Star Trek Enterprise A New Beginning
by jrrm64
Summary: AU. Takes the series and mixes it up and reboots it.
1. Chapter 1

**I deleted my story Star Trek Enterprise: Reboot. I just didn't like where it was going, but I like the idea. This is the rewrite of the reboot. Hope you like it. **

**Prologue**

**Location: Wolf 2157**

Romulans had targeted the destruction of Starbase 5, a vital out post for United Earth, and Starfleet Command decided to draw a line in the sand here. The _Enterprise_ led a task force that included Forty Daedalus Class cruises and fifteen Intrepid Class frigates. They were the first line of defense against twenty-five Birds of Prey, fifteen of their larger Warbird heavy cruisers, and ten of the huge K'T'inga Class Battle cruisers.

The _Columbia_ and _Endeavor_ along with ten Daedalus Class and fifteen Intrepid Class starships were the second line of defense guarding the Sol System, while the rest of the fleet was already dispersed to hot spots. A last line of defense was the _Atlantis_ along with 18 Daedalus Class and 23 Intrepid Class guarding Jupiter Station, Mars, and Earth. Starfleet Command was not going to let Earth succumb to a nuclear bombardment like several of their colonies had.

Task Force Alamo engaged the Romulans. The Romulan ships topped out at warp 4.5, but they had superior shields and weapons. Only the _Enterprise_ had an advantage in terms of speed and maneuverability. Commodore Archer's stomach knotted with anxiety, as he ordered his task force to split into two groups and attack. He knew his odds were against him, but this wasn't the first time he faces odds against him and his ship.

Captain Thuston Murrow sat in his command chair on the Daedalus Class cruiser _Potemkin_. He called over his XO Commander Elena Dawkins.

"XO, come here."

She removed herself from the tactical station and moved to her captain's side. At thirty-one she was the second youngest commander in Starfleet history and considered a candidate for her own command.

"Yes, Captain," she said.

"Damned Vulcans fault," he mumbled to himself. "They held us back all those years and now we aren't in position to defend ourselves."

"Captain," she raised her voice.

Murrow looked at her then said, "Pacifist my ass. They don't want to assist us because they can't control us. Damned Vulcans gave us all the help in the world as long as we were their puppets. You can't trust the bastards."

The starship shook from incoming fire. Dawkins realized that Murrow was having a breakdown. The pressure of battle had caught up with him. He'd had been due to leave _Potemkin_ for a teaching post at the academy, but the war stopped that. She didn't disagree with his opinion about the Vulcans. First, they pull their support when it came to the Xindi attack and now they hold back from the coalition blaming government upheaval and belief in diplomacy over war. Diplomacy didn't work against an enemy that attacked and didn't offer a reason why. It didn't work against an enemy that nuked a world in order to destroy a colony and kill its inhabitants.

"Sir, we are waiting for your orders," she said.

He looked at her. His eyes were wild and filled with tear.

"You can't trust damned Vulcans, XO," he stated.

She turned her back on them and barked orders for evasive maneuvers and cannon fire.

In the _Enterprise_ engineering, Trip ran from one problem to the next. He suddenly felt a rush of anxiety flow through him. It was strong but foreign. It had been a year since he felt anything through his bond with T'Pol. Their relationship was over. It died with baby Elizabeth. Yet, here in a crisis the bond ignited and he felt her emotions. He hoped that she was not feeling the chaos of emotions he felt at the moment.

"Kelby, check the plasma conduits," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," said Kelby, who ran off to start checking the conduits.

"Rivers, impulse engine coils are overheating from the weapons use. Cool them down," he barked.

One of the engineering stations exploded. Trip saw three of his crew hit the deck. Two of them looked bloodied and the third had serious burns. He contacted sickbay.

"Tucker to Sickbay, we have a medical emergency here," he shouted over the sounds of mayhem in his engineering.

"Phlox to Tucker, I am sending you a medic," Phlox said then broke the connection.

Trip got back to work. His engine, his ship, was falling apart from the flack it was taking, so he needed to find a way to keep it going.

On the _Potemkin_, Dawkins had taken control. Murrow sat in his command chair mumbling about the Vulcans. The ship was taking a beating. Hull polarization was down to 33 percent and they had hull breaches on six of their ten decks.

"Sir, Starbase 5 is reporting a massive hull breaches and overloads," her comm officer reported. "They are starting evac before she pops."

"Understood. Helm, get us some distance from Starbase 5," she ordered.

"Aye, aye, sir," came the response.

Commodore Archer took in the information as it was given to him. The anti-matter containment pods of Starbase 5 were ready to pop, as were the anti-matter containment pods of the _Peacemaker_, _Ares_, and _Buckingham_, as well as two of the Birds of Prey and one of the big K'T'inga Class Romulan ships. A release of that much anti-matter was going to have an effect, but he had no idea what effect.

"T'Pol, if all these anti-matter containment pods pop around the same time what are we looking at?" he asked her.

She stopped moving and looked into space for a moment.

"There is the possibility that such a release of anti-matter will create an unstable wormhole to open," she said.

"Hoshi, call Task Force-Alamo to the fall back to Sol. Call the fall back to Sol," he ordered.

"Aye, aye, sir," she said.

He hoped that the damned Romulans fell back, also. This area of space was going to become unstable real soon.

"Sir, warp engine is out and impulse engine failing. The ship is almost dead in the water," announced her Chief Engineer.

Commander Dawkins closed her eyes. Murrow was dead. A disruptor blast collapsed part of the ceiling on top of him. This was her decision and her decision alone. She opened her eyes.

"Comm, announce shipyard evac. Everyone to lifeboats. Evac, evac," she ordered. It was time to hopefully save some lives.

The lifeboat floated dead in space. Commander Dawkins looked at the other six bridge members in the lifeboat with her. Her comm officer Ensign Shin was dead, as well as her helmsman Ensign Bolero. Chief Petty Officer Nast was breathing heavily, sounding as if his lungs were almost ready to give. Lieutenant Terpin was in a state of shock just staring ahead and rocking back and forth, while Ensign Moorhead was unconscious. The only one seemingly in decent shape was Petty Officer 1st Class Masterson.

Dawkins reached over and turned on the comm unit and started her distress call.

"Emergency. This is a lifeboat from the UES_ Potemkin_. We are dead in space and needing emergency pickup," she broadcast.

When the station and several starships popped, she was at the control of the lifeboat. Her head the control panel and she got tossed hard enough to break ribs. The good thing was the head wound finally stopped bleeding. The bad thing was she blacked out just long enough to wake up in space that seemed close to Sol without an idea how she got there.

"Emergency. This is a lifeboat from the UES _Potemkin_. We are dead in space and needing emergency pickup," she broadcast again.

There was a shot of static on the comm unit then a male voice.

"This is Zefram Cochrane in the _Phoenix_. How can I help up?" Cochrane said.

"Zefram Cochrane! You're kidding me. Zefram Cochrane and the Phoenix were back in 2063. This is 2157," Dawkins stated.

"Honey, you are confused and I know that because I haven't had a drink yet. I have no way of towing you back to Earth," he said.

"I have a grappling line I can fire and attach to your ship and then you can tow. Get me into the atmosphere and I can take it from there," she said.

"I'm only doing this because you caught my interest, young lady," said Cochrane.

"Prepare for me to fire the grappler," she said.

**Bozeman, Montana, 2063 **

Dawkins was lying in a hospital bed in the infirmary of the Phoenix compound. Her head hurt and her ribs ached. All round her were medical equipment that look antique compared to what she was used. Maybe it was 2063. The door opened and a doctor along with Zefram Cochrane entered.

The doctor walked over to her bed and checked her chart.

"Grade two concussion and three cracked ribs," said the doctor. "You'll live."

"My crew?" she asked.

"Four dead, one critical, and one recuperating in another room," said the doctor. "There is no easy way of telling you."

"You could have tried," said Cochrane.

She chuckled at them. Cochrane smiled at her.

"Okay, I bet you got a great story to tell," he said.

"I'm afraid you won't believe me," she said.

"Try," he encouraged her.

"I'm from the future," she said.

Cochrane smiled. Before he could say another word, a young black woman rushed into the room. She looked excited.

"Zef, an alien space has entered our atmosphere. It seems like it's going to land here," she said.

Dawkins thought of Murrow suddenly. It was the Vulcan and all the Vulcans managed to do was hold humanity back for as long as they could. Cochrane reached warp one. In her time they were still at warp 5 and it was because of the Vulcans' influence. Humanity didn't need to be held back.

"Vulcans," she barked.

Everyone looked at her.

"The aliens are Vulcans. Don't trust them. They come as friends offering assistance but all they do is hold us back and treat us like inferiors," she stated.

"Well, I don't know," said Cochrane.

"In my time we are at war with the Romulans. Their ships are superior to ours and we are getting our asses kicked. The Vulcans made us take things so slowly our ships are inferior. The Vulcans have superior ships and they aren't helping us. We are on our own. Don't trust them. Make them treat us as equals and don't hold back developing tech equal to them and everyone else. Humanity's existence is at stake," she said.

Cochrane looked at her with a serious expression. Slowly, his face softened and he smiled.

"I'll be cautious with them," he said. "Don't worry they won't treat us like children."

"Please, don't be deceived by them," she said.

"I won't," he said. "I play a mean poker game."

He turned and looked at the black woman.

"Come on, Lilly, let's meet these Vulcans," he said.

They exited. Dawkins closed her eyes. She hoped she helped humanity shape its own future rather than depend on the Vulcans. She hoped that she saved humanity from the Vulcans.

**The Frigate Ares, Docked at Jupiter Station, 2155 **

His bags were already packed, so Trip dressed quickly in his small quarters. First, he pulled on his black pants; next, came his black boots, and then he pulled on his gold long sleeve duty shirt. Turning he faced the mirror. There was his rank pips representing his rank of commander on right breast, the Starfleet insignia on his left breast, rank insignia on his sleeves, and duty patch on his left upper sleeve. He zipped up the half zipper to his Adam's apple. The uniforms were the newest ones from the quartermaster at Starfleet Command. He ran his left hand through his dirty blonde hair then took a deep breath.

"Time say goodbye to my crew," he said.

At thirty years old Commander Trucker was the youngest commander and the youngest to command his own ship. For years he was Captain Jonathan Archer's chief engineer on the _Daedalus_ with a reputation of brilliance. Most ships used his upgrades on theirs warp engines. He was considered the best engineer in Starfleet, yet he wanted to try his hand at command. Admiral Forest and Rear Admiral Leonard supported his posting to the _Ares_, the latest Intrepid Class frigate. With a crew of sixty-five, room was cramped, but the frigate was capable of warp 5.5 cruising speed and a maximum warp of 6. The _Ares_, though, was a ship designed to fight. It had twelve torpedo tubes, and twelve phase banks, as well as defensive shields and polarized hull.

For the last year Trip had commanded the _Ares_ hunting Orion pirates and Nausicaan brigands and now the ship had been recalled, so that he could be assigned a new duty. Trip had the sneaking suspicion that Starfleet Command wanted him more as an engineer than for command. He did miss engineering.

Taking another deep breath, he exhaled, grabbed his duffel and garment bags, and headed for cargo bay A where his crew was assembled. Walking through his ship, he made his way to the cargo bay. The pneumatic doors open and Trip walked into cargo bay A where his full crew was assembled. His XO Lieutenant Devon Sands stood at attention when she saw him. Everyone followed her example. Trip chuckled.

"At ease," he said.

The night before they had his going away party. He received several interesting offers by certain members of his crew to say goodbye in an intimate way. He almost said yes to Lieutenant Sands overtures. The only thing that stopped him was fraternization guidelines that frowned on commanding officers fraternizing with members of his crew. He almost justified it with the fact that once docked at Jupiter Station he was no longer in command of the ship, but he was command until he was relieved by his replacement, who stood beside Lieutenant Sands.

Commander Deena Farr walked up to Trip and came to attention.

"I am here to relieve you, Commander Tucker," she said.

"I am relieved," he replied.

He put down his bags and offered his right hand. She shook it.

"You shuttle to earth is leaving in fifteen minutes, Commander," said Farr. "Do you need a petty officer to help you with your bags?"

"Nay, I can handle these," he said. "Petty Officer Clark did box up my personal belongings. Please, make sure that it gets sent to my temporary quarters at the Presidio."

"I am will, Commander," said Farr.

Trip looked over his crew and smiled.

"Best crew in Starfleet, but you know that. I expect that you will perform for Commander Farr just like you performed for me," said Trip.

He started to make his way through his crew. He heard the regret in their voices that he was leaving, but he also heard their well wishes. Commander Charles Tucker III was going to miss this ship.

**Starfleet Headquarter, San Francisco**

It was a large situation room on the third floor. Inside of the room standing around a smart table showing a holographic image of a starship was Chief of Operations Admiral Forest, Vice Chief of Ops Rear Admiral Leonard, Chief of Corp of Engineers Vice Admiral Jefferies, and Chief of Staff Admiral Roddenberry. All the admirals wore the gold shirts for command and operations, except Jefferies who proudly wore the red that signified engineering and security. Along with them were Captain Jonathan Archer, Captain Erica Hernandez, Captain AG Robinson, Captain Carlos Ramirez, Captain Bryce Hunter, Captain Kaori Nagura, Captain Nassan Kahn, and Commander Charles Tucker III.

"That ship is the first of our NX Class. It is the _Enterprise_," said Forest. "NX 0-1 _Enterprise_. William, why don't you fill them in on its capabilities."

"Thanks to Commander Tucker's suggestion the NX has a saucer section like the Intrepid Class but adds an engineering hull to house the warp and impulse engines. The added room will allow for added power. The Enterprise will be warp 7 capable," said Jefferies.

There was a murmur of excitement from the captains. Archer looked over at Trip and winked.

"The crew size for the NX 0-1 will be three hundred. This will include a detachment of five marine fire teams and an officer. It will have 18 decks total, tractor beam capable, defensive shielding, as well as hull polarization, and carry four shuttles. Its weapons capability is 20 phaser banks and 40 torpedo tubes. The NX is classified a heavy cruiser. I don't like the term battle cruiser since our mission is exploration and protection," explained Jefferies. "Within 18 months we intend on have 8 of these commissioned."

"Who gets the first one off the assembly line?" asked AG.

"Captain Archer," Forest smiled, "the _Enterprise_ is yours."

Applause came from the other captains and Commander Tucker. Archer blushed slightly and grinned. Erica Hernandez elbowed him in the ribs and he offered her a genuine smile.

"And the rest?" asked Captain Ramirez.

"The NX 0-2 _Columbia_'s captain will be Captain Hernandez," announced Forest. The NX 0-3 _Challenger_ will belong to Captain Robinson. The NX 0-4 _Excalibur_ will belong to Captain Ramirez. The NX 0-5 _Discovery_ will belong to Captain Hunter. The NX 0-6 _Constellation_ will belong to Captain Nagura. The NX 0-7 _Endeavor_ will belong to Captain Kahn."

"That leaves one more," smiled Archer, who looked over at Trip.

"The NX 0-8 _Atlantis_ will take everything we learned from the rest, as well as whatever upgrades we come up with in 18 months. I expect it to be our most advanced, fastest, toughest ship. Admiral Jefferies and I want someone with a certain background commanding it and that will be Commander Tucker," said Forest, who paused then grinned. "Who knows he might even be Captain Tucker by then."

The other captains laughed at this. If Forest said there was a chance of Tucker being captain then you could count on the frocking.

"Why are we commissioning the NX, Admiral? They seem like the kind of ships that you build for a war," said Archer.

"I know," sighed Forest. "The Klingons are saber rattling and the Orion syndicate and Nausicaans have increased attacks on ECS cargo freighters, not to mention the increase in colonies and Starbases, which Starfleet is tasked to protect."

"And exploration is dangerous work," added Leonard.

"I've talked to President Samuels and he agrees with me. I want a fleet that equals the Vulcans or the Andorians," said Forest.

"And 8 starships makes us their equals?" asked AG.

"These 8 ships will be the equal to, if not superior to, any Vulcan or Andorian starships," said Jefferies. "The rest of fleet proves that we are to be taken seriously."

Jefferies noticed Tucker transfixed by the holo of the _Enterprise_. He smiled. Under Tucker the _Atlantis_ will be the most advanced in any fleet, Jefferies thought.

**Vulcan Embassy, San Francisco **

Ambassador Soval read the reports from his contacts on Vulcan. The Syrrannites were making inroads in Vulcan society. The rumor was that Syrran and his closest acolytes hid away in the Forge and protected the true unabridged words of Surak. His contact also reported on those who were thought to be traitor within Vulcan High Command.

Vulcan leadership was well aware that Romulus wanted to reunify with Vulcan. The great schism during the time of Surak left scars on both peoples. Those Vulcans who left Vulcan and founded Romulus chose emotions over logic and control. Now the Romulans were making their move to unify by infiltration and violence. Even now it was thought by Soval's contact in the V'Shar that Romulans were already holding high positions in Vulcan High Command. He finished reading the report then erased it.

Difficult times were coming and Vulcan, or, at least, the Vulcan people needed allies. Soval wanted Earth to be an important ally. He knew that Earth didn't trust Vulcan, that most Earthers believed Vulcans thought themselves superior in all ways. It caused Vulcan High Command no end of annoyance that Starfleet advanced as quickly as they did. Soval was slightly amused by it.

Although he kept an outward façade of annoyance when it came to all things Human, he actually was a supporter of the Human Race. Over the years he had developed a strong relationship, what Human considered to be a friendship, with Admiral Forest. He was going to use that relationship to draw Vulcan and Earth closer. To begin with he wanted to place a Vulcan as a liaison to the NX program.

Soval reached over and turned on the comm unit.

"Please, send in Subcommander T'Pol," he requested.

At five foot six inches with dark chestnut hair and light brown eyes, T'Pol was exotically beautiful by human terms. She wore traditional Vulcan robes, which still didn't hide her attractiveness. More than once a Human had been attracted to her pouty lips and well portioned body, but she ignored them in best Vulcan fashion. She found Human males chaotic with an unpleasant odor.

"Ambassador Soval," she said, as she stood in front of his desk.

"I have an assignment Subcommander," he said. "I want you to act liaison to Starfleet Command."

She raised he right elbow but didn't answer.

"The Humans have made it known that they don't trust us enough to allow for a close working relationship," said T'Pol.

"Leave that to me, Subcommander," said Soval. "I intend on getting you a liaison position working with their NX program. You will offer them technological assistance with sensors, tractor beams, and defensive shielding."

"Is High Command aware of this liaison position and what it entails?" she asked.

"Don't worry, Subcommander, I shall deal with Vulcan High Command. Remember that you report to him, T'Pol," he said.

"Yes, Ambassador." `


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

**Vice Admiral William Jefferies Office**

Admiral Jefferies was reviewing information on the 250 Daedalus Class cruisers, 310 Intrepid Class frigates, and 150 Star Runner Class small border cutters. Fleet Admiral Taylor called for more ships, which meant looking at their mothballed fleet. There were still 150 Yorktown Class battleships mothballed that were either slated for museums or parts. They were tough and called for a crew of 120. They maxed out at warp 3 and used phase cannons instead of phaser banks, but with refits and upgrades he could get them to warp 4.5 cruising speed and maximum warp of 6.

The Proxima and Mars shipyards could get started on them within the month and within six months they could have fifty ready for re-commissioning. Both President Samuels and Fleet Admiral Taylor agreed on a thousand ship fleet. There were also some Horizon Class and Marshall Class destroyers still out there in use. With refits and upgrades he might be able to eke out another 70 destroyers. They would be heavy on weapons and no faster than warp 4, but Jefferies would be closer to that thousand starship fleet.

"Sir, Commander Tucker is reporting as requested," his aide's voice came over the comm.

Reaching over to his desk, he pressed the comm button. He had requested the secondment of Commander Tucker to the Corp of Engineers while he was earthbound.

"Show him in," said Jefferies.

Lieutenant Commander Sams ushered Trip into the office. Jefferies stood up and offered him his right hand to shake. They shook hands then Jefferies gestured for Trip to sit down. Trip sat down in one of the two chairs in front of Jefferies desk, while admiral returned to his chair.

"Admiral, you wanted to see me," Trip said.

"It was a damn shame when I agreed with Maxwell that you deserved to command a ship. You're an engineer," growled Jefferies.

Trip grinned then stuck his tongue in the side of his mouth in order to stifle that grin. It was then Captain Jefferies, who picked him out at the academy and gave him the opportunities to shine as both a theoretical and practical engineer.

"The chief engineer of the _Ares_ said you spent almost as much time in engineering as you did on the bridge," remarked Jefferies. "I didn't realize commanding officer took such interest in their engines."

"Lieutenant Kelso is a good engineer, though he needs more experience before I'd trust him to be chief without me looking over his shoulder and making sure things were done right," said Trip.

"Hell, I know. Too many of our ships have chief engineers without enough experience, but when you build a fleet that can go toe to toe with the Klingons you tend to end up with a lot of grass green chief engineers and commanding officers," said Jefferies.

"The Klingons really have Starfleet Command spooked," said Trip.

"It's classified, but considering you are one of the darling eight who is going to get to command the new NX, you might as well know. K'T'inga Class battle cruisers near Regulus. He was on an exploration mission for the Diplocorp. We are looking for allies," said Jefferies.

"What happened?" asked Trip.

"In the _Agamemnon_ AG stood his ground. He wouldn't back down, even though he wasn't sure that the Daedalus Class can handle one those starships. Scans tell us that they carry a crew of 700. They use disruptors instead of phasers. Our phasers we can modulate so we don't destroy a ship. Disruptors, as you know, have one setting and that is destroy," said Jefferies.

"I never came up against disruptors," said Trip.

"The Klingons didn't so much back down as threaten death and destruction the next time a Starfleet ship crosses a Klingon one," said Jefferies.

"Klingons," mumbled Trip then he looked at Jefferies. "The NX would be able to stand up against these K'T'inga class starships."

"I need to refit and upgrade the Yorktown Class, as well as the few Horizon and Marshall Class destroyers we have. I want your input. I asked Admiral Forest for your assistance while you're grounded and he agreed," said Jefferies.

"I thought I'd be working on the NX," said Trip.

"You can do both," said Jefferies. "Are you taking leave? You have about six weeks coming to you."

"I'm taking a week, sir. Going to visit my family in Florida," said Trip.

"When you come back you report to me," said Jefferies. "I might as well force you to use your engineering skills before you sit back down in a command chair."

"Yes, sir," Trip replied with a smile.

**Admiral Maxwell Forest Office**.

Admiral Forest's aide escorted Soval into his office. As the aide left, Soval offered him the hand sing the Ta'al and said, "Live long and prosper."

Forest took a small black box out of his pocket and pressed the blue button on the top. He placed it down on his desk then looked at Soval.

"A gift from Section 31," he said. "No one can listen in or record what we say here."

Soval nodded his head in approval. Forest motioned the ambassador to sit down then he sat behind his desk.

"These are difficult times, my friend," said Forest to Soval.

"I must agree," said Soval. "The Rihannsu have infiltrated several levels of Vulcan government. Led by V'lar, Minister Kuvak, Syrran and his protégé T'Pau, Solkar, Skon, and others are keeping an eye on those known to us. I am here for a favor."

"Ask, my friend," said Forest.

"I want to make Subcommander T'Pol a liaison to your NX program. She has permission to offer technical and practical assistance. T'Pol is trained in the sciences, as well as being a highly advanced in computers and mathematics. She also served on the _Seyela_ as the science officer for six years," explained Soval.

"Does this mean she'll provide insight into Vulcan technology?" asked Forest.

"No. She would be arrested for treason if she did that. What she can provide is improving Human technology. Her knowledge of shields and sensors alone would be a benefit to your program," said Soval.

Forest leaned back in his chair and smiled. Having a Vulcan on the team would be a boon. As a race they were filled geniuses, but Starfleet Security would consider her a high risk. He needed to utilize her and keep her in a box and he had the perfect solution.

"I have a counter offer, Soval," said Forest.

"I await your offer," said Soval.

"I can't make her liaison to the program because she'll never get by security. What I can offer you is the chance at an exchange program instead. Subcommander T'Pol is you assistant, correct?" asked Forest.

"Correct," said Soval.

"The Diplocorp will send an officer to you as a new assistant and Subcommander T'Pol will become the assistant of one of the new captains who have been assigned one of the NX starships," offered Forest.

"Which captain?" asked Soval.

Forest smiled, "I'm fast tracking the promotion of Commander Tucker to captain. With his engineering background he was going to be involved in the construction of his ship from the day one. He'll make sure it has all the best upgrades and then some. Being his assistant will be a perfect spot for her."

Commander Charles Tucker III's reputation was well known by many Vulcans. His competence as an engineer was respected. But it was more than his competence that they respected, he was an innovator. He possessed a creative force when it came to engineer, the kind of creative force missing in most Vulcan, who relied on logic and eschewed the chaos of creativity. Acting his assistant will task her emotional control, as Tucker had a reputation as being highly emotional, but it would also be a challenge for T'Pol. Soval nodded his head.

"I agree. It would be satisfactory for T'Pol to be Commander Tucker's assistant," said Soval.

"Now that we agree on that I do have a question – why?" asked Forest.

"It is time to start strengthening ties between Vulcans and Humans and T'Pol will be the first step in strengthening that relationship," said Soval.

"Again I could ask why, but I won't," said Forest. "We're friends, so whenever I can help my friend, I will."

Soval respectfully nodded his head towards his Human friend.

**602 Club, Mill Valley **

Trip entered the 602. It was full of Starfleet personnel and a few locals. The jukebox was playing a classic Fusion Rock song from 2060. Trip preferred the Blues, but he'd accept any music just as long as it wasn't Orion Seduction music. His eye caught a booth that was filled with captains: Archer, Robinson, Hernandez, Ramirez, and Nagura. He made his way over to them.

"Looks like a crowed booth," he remarked.

"Good thing Hunter and Kahn couldn't come," said AG. "Grab a chair."

Trip scanned the 602 and saw an unused chair. He walked over and grabbed it. A lieutenant looked as if she was going to stop him, but his rank stopped her. Putting the chair by the booth table, he sat down.

"Why are you late, Trip?" asked Archer.

"Jefferies secondment me to the Corp of Engineers, so I can work with him while I'm grounded and waiting for the A_tlantis_," he said.

"Back to being a humble engineer," smiled AG.

Kaori Nagura grabbed a clean glass and poured Trip a glass of beer from the pitcher. She handed it to him and he smiled.

"Thank you, ma'am," he said.

"Call me Kaori and I'll call you Trip," she said.

Archer and AG looked at each other and smirked. Trip had picked up a bit of a reputation with woman over the years. Erica used to say he was honey to female flies.

"When do you get frocked?" asked Ramirez.

"Oh, hell, who knows? I can see them letting me command the Atlantis as a commander," said Trip.

"You're getting that extra strip and that will make you the youngest captain in Starfleet history at thirty-three," said Archer with pride. He looked at Trip as the brother he never had.

"Where you staying?" asked Nagura.

"The Presidio in temporary housing," said Trip.

"Me, too," she grinned. "Maybe we can share a taxi home."

"I'd like that," said Trip.

"You should have told me, Trip. I've got plenty of space in my house at Half Moon Bay," said Archer.

"Yeah, your beach house," said AG with a hint of jealousy. "You never ask me to stay there."

"That's because I'd never get you to leave," said Archer.

"Well, I've got a month off. I'm thinking of either going to Risa or Bermuda," AG told his companions.

"Risa. The women there are exquisite," commented Ramirez.

"_Enterprise_ will be launching in two months, so there is no rest for the wicked. I report to Mars shipyard on Monday where I can learn about my new ship and start to crew," Archer told them.

"The _Columbia_ launches a month later," said Hernandez.

"The _Challenger_ launches six weeks after that" said AG.

"Then it slows down as the _Excalibur_ launches two months after that," said Ramirez. "Still they are trying to get the NX starships out into space. It's like they are expecting trouble."

Trip sipped his beer and listened to his fellow officers talk. His mind, though, started to drift to what was ahead of him. He was going to spend seven days in Florida enjoying sun, beach, ocean, and family. After his short vacation he was assisting Jefferies as well as being part of the construction team of the _Atlantis_.

"What are you doing for your leave?" Archer asked Trip.

Trip refocused on the conversation. He grinned.

"Florida and family for a week," answered Trip.

"Excellent. You'll have to give Charlie and Elaine my best," said Archer.

"If you get a day you should come down. You know they think of you as family, Cap'n," said Trip.

"How about me?" asked AG with a smirk.

"They think of you as a stranger who invades their home now and then," grinned Trip.

"Nice, Tucker, very nice," chuckled AG.

**Trip's Temporary Quarters**

Trip got out of bed without waking Captain Nagura. After a boisterous round of sex last night, they fell sound asleep. He looked down at her. She was five years older than him and dedicated to her career, which meant last night was nothing more than letting off some steam. Kaori Nagura had aspirations to be an admiral.

He sighed. There was part of him that missed having a committed relationship. He knew that he had a reputation as a womanizer, but it was a reputation he wished he didn't have. Looking over at the chronometer beside his bed he saw that he had an hour to shower, pack, get dress, and catch a shuttle to the training center in Pensacola. From there he could rent a hovercar and drive the rest of the way to his parent's new home at St. Auugtine's Florida. But before he went he needed to record a goodbye to Kaori on a PADD and place it beside his bed then leave some breakfast for her in the stasis bin.

**St. Augustine, Florida**

It was getting on to one in the afternoon when Trip pulled up to his parent's house in his rented hovercar. The ocean was in the background of the house, while in the front yard, his brother Martin played with his three kids and his father worked the grill. On the porch he saw his baby sister Lizzy, Martin's wife Claire, his mother, and his older sister Ellen sitting on the porch sipping sweet tea.

Trip realized he was still in uniform and sighed. He wished he had changed. His being a member of Starfleet was a bone of contention with his sister, the philosophy professor, and his mother, the mathematician. His father, who was a civilian engineer building hovercars, his brother, a designer of hovercar engines, and Lizzy, an architect, didn't care what he did just as long as he was happy.

Getting out of the hovercar, he grabbed his garment bag and duffel and started towards the porch. The first one off the porch to greet was Lizzy, who threw herself into his arms. He had a special relationship with his baby sister.

"It's good to see you, Trip," she said then stepped back to look at him. "It has to be over a year."

"Twenty months," he smiled. "I've been busy, Lizzy, but I did keep in touch."

"My co-workers love when I tell them I got a comm from Krios Prime where my brother represented the Earth for the First Monarch's coronation," she said. "So was she beautiful?"

"She wasn't bad to look at," he answered with a smirk.

"Charles Tucker III, are you going to spend your vacation catching up with your baby sister or are you going to acknowledge the rest of your family," came the stab of quilt from his mother.

Elaine Tucker was standing at the foot of the stairs waiting for a hug. He left his bags with Lizzy and Martin, who came over to help her, and rushed over to hug his mother. When he stepped back to look at him, there was a big smile on her face.

"You look like you've lost weight and gained more muscle," she said.

"Life on a frigate was active for me. I spent a lot of my spare time in engineering tutoring our tyro chief engineer," he said.

"I got hamburgers for lunch and tonight I'll grill you a steak," his father called over.

Claire rounded up the three kids and brought them over. There was a three year girl, five year old girl, and seven year old boy.

"Trip, you remember Charles Tucker IV, Elaine, and Mariam," introduced Claire.

"Lizzy, my duffel," he called to his sister.

Lizzy brought over his duffel bag. He opened it and then he looked at the kids.

"I knew I had some presents in here," he said and then pulled out a model of a frigate and a control. He handed them to Charles IV. "What do you like to be called?"

"Charlie," he answered.

"Frigate flies. Think you can figure out," he said.

"Dad says I take after you with stuff," he smiled.

"Go have some fun," said Trip.

Charlie ran over to his father to show him the frigate. Next was Elaine. He'd been told that Elaine liked reading. He took a PADD out of his bag and handed it to her.

"On that PADD are stories from Vulcan, Andoria, Risa, Krios Prime, Cordan, and Teller," he said. "They have been translated by a program designed by a friend of my Lieutenant Commander Hoshi Sato. She's a linguistic genius. I hope you like them."

"Thank you, Uncle Trip," she said then kissed his cheek.

Elaine went off to the porch to grab some shade and begin reading. Lastly, there was Mariam. The little girl stared at him with anticipation. Trip pulled an exotic delicate doll dressed in fine silk out of his bag. He handed it to Mariam, who broke out in a smile.

"That doll is from a planet called Risa," he said. "I hope you like it."

"Thank you," she said quietly then went over to show her new doll to her mother.

"Where are the gifts for the adults?" asked Martin.

"I've got two bottles of Andorian Ale for you and dad and for the ladies I have some Triaxian silk robes. They say it is the finest silk in the galaxy. Can I stay for the week?" he smugly smiled.

"Lizzy, take your brother to the spare bedroom on the first floor with the private bathroom," said Elaine Tucker.

Lizzy grabbed his much lighter duffel bag.

"Come on, Commander Tucker," she said.

Trip chuckled and followed his sister.

For the next few days all Trip did was eat, relax, and enjoy the sun and surf. He was finally starting to feel truly relaxed with he got a call on his communicator. It was early morning and he just exited the shower. He grabbed his communicator and answered it.

"Tucker."

"_How is your vacation coming, Commander_," asked the voice of Admiral Forest.

"It's going fine, sir. Is there an emergency?" Trip asked.

"_No emergency. I wanted to call you to tell you that your promotion has come through faster than anticipated. You are now a captain. I recommending stopping at the quartermasters for new uniforms_," Forest told him.

Trio was in shock. He didn't know how to respond.

"Thank you, sir. I'm at a loss for words," said Trip.

"_That just might be one of my greatest accomplishments, son_," said Forest. "_Of course, your promotion comes with a price. I've just got the okay on an exchange program with Vulcan._"

"Sir, you aren't sending me to that hell planet with all those pointy eared know it alls?" asked Trip.

"_No, Captain, I am giving you a Vulcan assistant. You'll meet them when you come back from vacation. From what I've heard this assistant is proficient in mathematics, science, and a helluva lot more. They should come in handy for you, so she them_," said Forest in a tone that sounded vaguely like a command.

"Yes, sir," said Trip.

"_Congratulations, Captain Tucker. Great things are expected from you_," Forest signed off.

Trip closed his communicator then tossed it on the bed. He took a deep breath then slowly exhaled.

"A damned Vulcan for an assistant," he sighed.

**Tucker's Home, St Augustine, Florida**

It was six am in the morning. Trip had one day left before he returned to San Francisco. He got up early with Lizzy to take a morning swim. Now he stood in the ocean water up to his thighs. Lizzy stood beside him.

"I'm going to miss this," he said.

"Yeah, but will you miss Ellen lecturing you on the industrial military complex that is Starfleet," giggled Lizzy.

"Ellen never had to board a freighter after the Nausicaans or Orions have had their way with it. Even though most cargo freighter can reach warp 4.5 the boomers still spend the majority of their life on board their ships. Their ship becomes their home and their crew becomes their family. Both Orions and Nausicaans will take those they think they can sell as slaves, but they always butcher the rest. I never felt I was doing wrong when I hunted down a Nausicaan or Orion starship and decommissioned them," growled Trip.

His sister put her right hand in his left hand and squeezed. He turned and gave his sister a warming hug then kissed her forehead.

"We should get ready for breakfast," said Trip.

"Yeah, we should. I'm going to be sorry to see you go," she said.

"I'll be in San Francisco for months on months. Come visit. I'll show you a good time," he said.

**Vice Admiral Jefferies Office**

Trip took a deep breath to control his emotions. He was officially back on duty. Yesterday he spent the day getting new uniforms with captain rank and insignia, as well as an upgrade in his temporary quarters. Today he was told to report to Jefferies. He entered the office where Admiral Forest, Vice Admiral Jefferies, Ambassador Soval, and a Vulcan in traditional robes, who had their back turned to everyone as they looked out the window.

"Tucker, I'm glad you are here," said Jefferies. "You know Admiral Forest. This is Ambassador Soval and your new assistant Subcommander T'Pol."

T'Pol turned and faced Trip. His breath caught for a moment. He had met many a beautiful woman, and some were alien, but T'Pol might have been the most beautiful woman he'd seen. She stared at him with a calm demeanor that had a hint of superiority. _Calm down, Tucker, it's only a woman and a Vulcan woman at that, _he told himself.

T'Pol has originally turned her back because she had run out of nasal inhibitor and hadn't enough time to get more before the meeting. She found the Human male smell too pungent. When the new Human entered, she was surprised that his odor to offend her, but it drew her attention. She stared at the new Human in the room.

"Subcommander T'Pol, may I introduce to you Captain Tucker," said Soval.

"Subcommander," Tucker said in a raspy voice.

T'Pol nodded towards him. She tried to take her eyes from Captain Tucker, but she found her eyes lingering on the Human in front of her.

"Now that we have introductions we can get to work," said Jefferies.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two

Trip along with a crew of engineers and technicians were working engineering of the Yorktown Class the _Atlas_. He was in a work coverall with his rank, name tag, and radiation badge. Trip had climbed up into an access hatch in order to check on plasma relays, as well as conduits. He was now covered in sweat, as it was 33 degrees Celsius in access tubes. If the warp engine was going to be upgraded to handle warp 4.5 or 5, they had to make sure that the whole system could handle the added power. The Yorktown class crewed 275, but with added phaser banks and torpedo tubes that would be reduced to 200. The _Atlas_ was going to be a destroyer, which meant it needed to take a beating and also give one.

He didn't need to scan the plasma ducts with a sensor to know that they needed to pull them all out and replace them with new ducts. The current ones wouldn't be able to handle the plasma flow generated by the upgrades. Trip started down the ladder until his foot touched nothing but air then he let go of the ladder and dropped from the ceiling to the floor.

Trip was surprised to see Subcommander T'Pol dressed in a Starfleet uniform with a blue shirt, except without the Starfleet insignia on her breast, and wore what he surmised was a thermal layer under her shirt that was barely noticeable. What was noticeable to Trip was how well the uniform hung to her curves. She lifted her left eyebrow as she stared at him. Trip remembered his briefings on Vulcans. According to the protocol officer Vulcan females had highly sensitive olfactory. He could only imagine how he smelled to her. A smirk crossed his face, which he tried to hide by sticking his tongue in his right cheek.

"Subcommander," he said, "you look good in the uniform."

"Since I'm attached to Starfleet as your assistant I thought it best to wear a similar uniform to you," she remarked.

"Sorry about the odor. With most of the systems down while we refit and upgrade, it gets hot in here," Trip stated.

T'Pol thought his statement showed concern for her discomfort, yet it was offset by the fact he seemed to be suppressing a smile. Was he amused by her discomfort?

"If you go to the infirmary on Jupiter Station you can get a nasal inhibitor," said Trip.

"When my break comes, Captain, I shall visit the infirmary and procure some nasal inhibitor," she stated.

"If you wish to you can go now," said Trip. "I won't tell you supervisory office."

He smiled, but T'Pol didn't get his joke. She stood there staring at him with a nonplussed expression. Trip sighed.

"I have been trained to deal with offensive situations," she stated.

Trip grimaced at the comment. Besides strong olfactory, he started to tick off Vulcans no no's in his head: don't eat meat, do not like to be touched, suppress their emotions, believe in logic, and so on and so worth. Sounds like a helluva first date, he thought.

"If you are going to stay then I might as well put you to work. In the chief engineers office, which I am using, there are some intermix formulae. I was hoping we'd run simulations with the intermix formula we trust," Trip told her.

"Yes, Captain," she said. "I shall get to work."

T'Pol turned on her heal and headed to the chief engineers office. Trip found that he almost had no control over his eyes, which were focused on T'Pol as she walked away. She may be ice, he thought, but she was well formed ice.

ST Enterprise

Captain Archer was getting his first tour of the almost operational _Enterprise_. First, a shuttle gave him a tour of the outside, as it was docked to a construction base. As the shuttle leisurely circled the grey starship, Archer sat in silence. In his eyes it was beautiful starship and it carried his father's warp engine design, which made it the fastest ship in the fleet.

By the time the shuttle docked with the engineering hull and the hatch was opened so that he could step on his new ship. Archer was in love with the _Enterprise_. A first tour was almost like a first date. It didn't take long to know if you were smitten or not.

The head helmsman, Lieutenant Travis Mayweather, was waiting for him at the hatch. The young man came to attention and Archer smiled.

"Relax, Lieutenant," he said.

Archer had read Mayweather's file. He was a boomer, which meant he was born and raised on an ECS cargo ship. These ships tended to be generational ships, since they topped out at warp 3.5. There was talk of Starfleet taking over the cargo service from the ECS. Starfleet could build larger, better weapons, and faster ships and crew them with top crews and marines, which would cut down on piracy. The ECS had fought this with all the political influence it had, though there were many in both the Senate and Starfleet Command that believed a takeover was inevitable.

Most boomers considered Starfleet the enemy. Archer could tell by Mayweather's smile that he was not one of them. According to his academy record and short stint on a border cutter, Mayweather was one of the best helmsmen in Starfleet. Archer was glad to have him.

"Good to have you on board, sir," said Mayweather.

"Why don't you show me our ship, Mayweather," grinned Archer.

"Yes, Captain."

ST Enterprise

Trip was exhausted after a nine hour day working on the _Atlas_. Jefferies' idea was to have Trip work on the first ship of class then use whatever shortcuts or improvements he comes up with for the rest of the refit and upgrade. After showering and changing back into his duty uniform, he exited men's locker room in the Mars orbital spacedock. Waiting outside of the locker room was T'Pol.

"Subcommander," he said.

"The shuttle back to Starfleet Headquarters leaves in twenty minutes, sir," she said.

"No transporters to beam out?" he queried.

"The distance between Earth and the orbital spacedock is one thousand six hundred and eight kilometers outside of acceptable transporter distance," she answered.

"I've always thought the transporter was being underestimated in its use," Trip said.

"I see," she said.

Trip looked over at her and thought she was placating him. He chuckled to himself. Trip began to walk towards the shuttle area. T'Pol walked by his side.

"So, are you quartered at the Presidio, also?" he asked.

"No," she answered. "I am staying at the Vulcan compound. They have heat and gray adjustments in the private quarters which make them more appealing."

"Hotter temperature and heavy gravity," Trip said to himself. "Our standard quarters must be uncomfortable for you."

"They are," she agreed.

"We should have adjustable gravity and temperature in our quests quarters," he remarked. "If a Vulcan emissary traveled on my ship, I'd want them comfortable. Same as if I carried an Andorian, or a Tellerite, or a Cordanite."

"It would be an agreeable idea," she said.

"I'll talk to Jefferies about that," Trip said more to himself than to T'Pol.

They arrived at the shuttle. As a captain he was allowed to enter the shuttle first and get a comfortable seat. T'Pol stayed by his side. Instead of one of the seats facing each other, Trip chose two seats in the back of the shuttle. Once they were seated, he pulled a small personal PADD out of his pocket and began making notes.

T'Pol realized too late that her nasal inhibitor was running out. The male and female pheromones, sweat, and staleness of the shuttle began to assault her sense of smell. She focused on ignoring that which offended her. As a Vulcan discipline was not second nature but first nature. She turned her head slightly towards Trip and was surprised how appealing Captain Tucker's scent was. Breathing him in she was able to focus and shut all other odors out.

"Subcommander, do you feel confident in the intermix formula we ended up with today?" Trip asked her.

"It should be satisfactory," she replied.

"I'd like to power up the warp engine tomorrow then," he said. "It'll be easier to find the bugs in the system and fine tune things with the engine working."

"Bugs in the system?" she queried with a raised right eyebrow.

"Sorry, it's just a figure of speech," he said. "It means problems."

"I see," she said.

Trip grinned and went back to his PADD making more notes. It was just then that his stomach growled. T'Pol stared at him.

"I haven't eaten since breakfast," said Trip. "I think my stomach is wrapped around spine."

"That sounds like a medical problem," she said without a hint of humor.

Trip couldn't help but to laugh. His communicator buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket.

"Tucker, here," he answered it.

"_Trip, you have to see the Enterprise_," said Archer.

"You on board now?" asked Trip.

"_I'm thinking of moving in now and not waiting for another wee_k," said Archer.

"Must be something, Cap'n," he said.

"_I want you to take a tour and then do me a favor_," said Archer,

"I'm kind of business, Cap'n," he said.

"_You're a captain now, too, Trip. Call me Jon and clear some room on your schedule for an old friend. No one knows my father engine better than you. I want you to take a look at the warp engine_," Archer stated.

"Let me talk to Jefferies. He'll probably like the idea of me taking a looksy," Trip replied.

"I'll make sure you get a good meal out this, Trip," Archer said.

"I want barbecue ribs and pecan pie," retorted Trip.

Archer laughed.

"You'll get it. Let me know when you are coming. Archer, out," he said.

Trip put his communicator back in his picket then he looked over at T'Pol.

"I'll talk to Admiral Jefferies tonight. I don't think he'll argue with my idea, which is to let you power up the engine tomorrow along with Lieutenant Commander Burch, who can oversee everything as the acting chief engineer," said Trip.

"You will be occupied elsewhere?" she asked.

"Captain Archer wants me to see the _Enterprise_," he answered. "Actually, he wants me to take a look at the warp engine. His father, Henry Archer, designed the engine that is currently being installed in starships. Unfortunately, Henry died about six years ago, so he's not here to check out his own engines. Cap'n Archer thinks of me as an expert in his father's engine."

"I see," she responded to his information.

His stomach growled again. Trip blushed this time.

"I recommend that you eat when we land, Captain," said T'Pol.

"Yeah, I guess that's a good idea," he smiled.

T'Pol turned head and closed her eyes. For reasons she couldn't explain she would have preferred Captain Tucker to be there tomorrow on the _Atlas_. Maybe it was the constant interaction with Humans, but she found that she needed to meditate. She had been exposed to too many unruly Human emotions. Her own emotions needed suppression and assimilation.

**ST Enterprise**

Trip was impressed with the _Enterprise_. After a quick tour Archer left him off at engineering where Lieutenant Commander Kelby waited for him. He donned a pair of coveralls and started to check out the Archer designed warp engine. Six hours later and some fine tuning and he was satisfied that the engine would purr when it hit warp 6. After a shower Archer came to collect him for dinner.

They made their way through the corridors towards the turbolift. Occasionally, petty officers would come to attention as they passed, as well as engineers and techs working on the _Enterprise_.

"18 decks, Trip," said Archer.

"Impressive ship, Jon," said Trip.

They reached the turbolift and got on. Archer announced the deck and location.

"Audio commands," smiled Trip. "What about during battle?"

Archer pressed a release button to show a data pad.

"If audio is out then you can go manual," he told him.

"I can't wait to get the keys to my NX," grinned Trip.

The turbolift stopped and they exited. The captain's mess was down the corridor.

"Faster than I thought," he said.

"Everything about this ship is faster, bigger, better," grinned Archer. "How's the warp engine?"

"Warp six will be reached with ease, Jon," said Trip.

They entered the captain's mess. Unlike the captain's mess on a frigate, this one seat as many as ten guests. Archer took the head of the table and Trio instinctively sat on his right hand.

"If you have a talented engineer then you should end up with a maximum warp of 6.8 with cruising speed at warp 6," he continued describing the warp engine.

"I've talked to Commander Pollard about Kelby. He says the young man needs to learn how to handle his people better, but he's supposed to be top notch," said Archer. "I'd rather have the best, though."

Trip smiled. There were some in Starfleet who thought Trip as brilliant, even a genius, and Archer was one of them. Of course, those who viewed him that way knew better than to call him brilliant or genius because Charles Tucker III didn't like what he considered blowing smoke up his ass.

"I gave him my comm code if he needs to talk a problem through or get some advice from someone who seen most of the problems he is going to face," Trip let him know.

"You know Kelby is only a couple of years younger than you," smirked Archer.

The steward came in pushing a cart. On it the cart was two beers, two shrimp cocktails, and fresh rolls. He served up the food and drink and left.

"Chef told me that he couldn't get the ribs but he has a nice steak for us, baked potatoes, creamed spinach, and a pecan pie," Archer told him.

"Lucky that I'm hungry enough to eat a horse without complaint," grinned Trip as he dipped a shrimp into the cocktail sauce then eat it.

"How is the Vulcan turning out?" asked Archer.

"So far, so good. It takes some getting used to, but I have to admit that she is brilliant," Trip admitted.

"I was shocked that Admiral Forest went for this pseudo exchange program," said Archer.

"I guess he thinks we need allies, especially with the Klingons sword rattling," said Trip.

"Andorians I can understand," said Archer. "They like a good fight, but Vulcans would rather mediate everything."

"Can't mediate Orion pirates and the Orion syndicate or the Nausicaans," agreed Trip.

Taking a sip of his beer, Archer pushed his half eaten shrimp aside.

"So far we have managed to avoid major conflicts, Trip, but I have a feeling that our time is running out," said Archer. "We are starting to butt heads with more aggressive races like the Klingons. Collingworth came back from deep space exploration in a Daedalus Class Starship with stories about another militaristic race called the Cardassians. Just like the Klingons they are empire builders, which means they like to conquer other races."

"You trying to scare me, Cap'n," smirked Trip.

"I'm just saying, Trip, that these NX starships are being built for a reason," said Archer.

Trip finished his shrimp cocktail then said, "Then I'm glad I got one of them."

**ST Enterprise**

Soval sat behind his desk in his office at the Vulcan compound in Sausalito. His fingers were steepled as he contemplated one of the many problems at hand. Someone buzzed the door to his office.

"Enter," he said in a voice just below a yell.

A young Vulcan man came into his office. He was dressed in the robes of a Kolinahr Master. When the pneumatic door closed behind him, the Vulcan lowered the hood of his robe to expose a calm, almost pretty, yet still masculine, face.

"A Kolinahr Master?" said Soval. "Isn't this out of character for you, Salan?"

"Yes, I thought it best to travel as a pilgrim. I'm a Kolinahr Master come to Earth to study with Tibetan monks," said Salan.

"Were you followed?" asked Soval.

"Yes, but I lost them. I believe they are still searching for me in the Himalayas," said Salan, who appeared almost to have a smirk on his face.

"Update me, Salan. What has the V'Shar dredge up?" asked Soval.

"Administrator V'Las is a puppet for the Romulans. His military advisor, Major Talok, is a deep cover Romulan agent. Talok is Tal Shiar," said Salan.

"Are there others?" asked Soval.

"Yes, but we are still working on separating Romulans, Vulcans under the influence of Romulans, and those Vulcans deluded by corrupting influences," said Salan.

"What is next for you?" asked Soval.

"I'm going to spend some time on Earth before returning to Vulcan," said Salan.

"You have an assignment here on Earth?" said Soval.

"Not so much an assignment as an information gathering mission and vacation. I am interested in Human society," said Salan. "I've been known as a Vulcan whose emotional control is not the best. I thought I might find Human society interesting."

"How you pass as a Kolinahr Master is perplexing to me," said Soval.

"A deep cover V'Shar agent is trained to pass for many things," said Salan.

"How long will you be on Earth?" asked Soval.

"Six to twelve months," answered Salan. "There is a great deal about Earth that V'Shar wishes to learn about and I am tasked with it. Humanity is a potential important ally. We must know more."

"I expect you to report in to me if you are here on Earth," said Soval.

"I shall report every three months. It will not always be in person, though, because I intend on doing some deep cover work in order to learn about Humanity," said Salan.

"Every three months it is," said Soval. "If I don't hear from you then I assume a problem."

"You can assume a problem, but that doesn't mean there will be one," said Salan.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Three

Trip was told to wear his dress uniform including all his medals for the commissioning and launching of the _Enterprise_. Beside AG, Erica, Ramirez, Nagura, Kahn, Hunter, he heard that Malcolm, Hoshi, and Anna Hess would be at the ceremony on the Mars orbital spacedock. Admiral Forest, Fleet Admiral Taylor, Vice Admiral Jefferies, and Chief of Staff Admiral Roddenberry were there representing the admiralty, while President Samuels and fifteen senators were there representing Earth Government.

A special shuttle was waiting for the NX captains to take them to the spacedock. Wearing a long white tunic dress coat, black pants, and black half boots that made up the dress uniform, Trip was the last one on the shuttle. He found a seat beside Kaori.

"Captain Nagura," he grinned.

"Captain Tucker," she returned the grin. "I haven't had a chance to offer you my congratulations on your promotion."

She leaned in and whispered into his ear, "Maybe I can show you how captains celebrate after the ceremony."

"Dinner and drinks?" asked Trip.

"And more," she chuckled.

AG who was seated across from the raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Hey, Trip, are you going to fine tune my warp engine like you did Jon's?" he asked with a smirk.

"I was going my former commanding officer a favor, AG. I've never served with you," Trip replied.

"My feelings are hurt," said AG.

"If I offer you a traditional Japanese meal, will fine tune my engine for me?" asked Kaori in a purring voice.

"I'm a Southern gentleman, ma'am, so I could never say no to a beautiful woman," Trip answered.

The rest of the captains laughed, except AG.

"_Buckle up, we are taking off_," came the voice of the captain over the ship's comm.

The shuttle docked with the spacedock. Trip was amazed how a functional, ugly spacedock had been festooned and turned into a place where dignitaries and media felt at home. Surprisingly, there were dignitaries from alien races there. The Andorians, who were negotiating reciprocating embassies, had a diplomatic delegation, as did the Tellerites, Cordanites, and Vulcans. Even the Denobulan, who had trade treaties with Earth, sent a diplomatic delegation. The seven NX captains were seated in the front row. A giant view screen showed the _Enterprise_ floating in space attached to the spacedock by a few umbilical cords.

Admiral Forest took to the podium to start the speeches. Trip phased his mind out. The speeches would be grand and long and boring. His eyes strayed to the Vulcan delegation. Soval was seated along with his two aides, Tos, and T'Pol, which surprised him. She was wearing brown and black robe, which someone still didn't hide her finer attributes.

Kaori leaned in close to Trip and whispered, "If this speech is any indicator, I'm going to be well rested for tonight."

Trip stuck his tongue in right cheek in order to hide his amusement.

Several hours past and every admiral and politician and their speech, even Captain Archer gave a speech from the bridge of the E_nterprise_. With an end of speeches, it was time for finger foods, drinks, and mingling. Captain Nagura stuck by Trip's side as he headed over to talk to Malcolm, Hoshi, and Anna Hess.

"Malcolm Reed, Hoshi Sato, and Anna Hess, this is Captain Kaori Nagura," Trip made the introduction.

"Ma'am," said the three officers in unison.

"At ease. Let's keep this light," said Nagura.

"Commander Reed, I see you got that much deserved promotion, Mal," said Trip.

The two friends shook hands. Next, Hoshi gave him a hug, as did Anna.

"And you two are now lieutenant commanders," he said at the two women.

He looked at Mal and asked, "What have you been assigned to?"

"Starfleet Intelligence for now," he sighed. "I wanted to stay on a ship, but Admiral Shin made a persuasive argument to accept the assignment."

"Are you staying in San Francisco?" asked Trip.

"I am for now," said Mal.

"We have to get together then," said Trip then he looked at Hoshi and Anna. "And what are you two assigned to now?"

"Starfleet Communications. I'm part of the team upgrading our universal translators," answered Hoshi. "Starting next month I'll be working closely with the Vulcans. Soval has agreed to allow me to do some further studies of the Vulcan language though they still didn't yes to adding Vulcan to the universal translator."

"Sounds about right for the Vulcans," grinned Trip.

"And I'm one of the many engineers working on the NX program," Hess answered. "If only one of the captains thinks highly of me, when they are picking their new chief engineer."

"Got the message, Hess," Trip said with a smirk.

"Captain Tucker, why don't we and your friends get to the buffet table before the food and drinks are gone. I could use some to eat," said Nagura.

"I like the way you think, Captain Nagura," said Malcolm.

The group mingled with the crowd, as they made their way to the buffet table. As they got closer they ran into Soval with one of his aides and T'Pol.

"Captain Tucker, Subcommander T'Pol has told me that working with you can be challenging," Soval said.

"I hope that is a compliment," grinned Trip.

"Vulcans are invigorated by a good challenge," said Soval.

Trip noticed that T'Pol was staring at him with her right eyebrow raised slightly and a look of disapproval on face. He noticed that her eyes strayed from him to Nagura and back again. It was then that he realized that he and Kaori were standing so close to each other they were rubbing shoulders. Maybe she disapproves that I'm violating someone's personal space, he considered.

T'Pol nostrils flared. She caught a whiff of sexual excitement off Captain Nagura and now that she had Trip's scent in her nostril, she detected a release of pheromones. They were either sexual partners or going to be sexual partners. This thought annoyed her, yet she was quite sure why. She needed to meditate and process her emotions and motivations.

"T'Pol speaks highly of your engineering skills. She remarked that even a Vulcan engineer would appreciate them," said Soval.

"I'm humbled by that comment," said Trip. "I don't get to spend as much time in engineering since I took command of ship. It's been good to get dirty again."

"Get dirty again?" Soval repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Captain Tucker enjoys employing colloquialisms, Ambassador," said T'Pol.

"I see," said Soval to T'Pol then he faced Trip. "Colloquialisms can be very colorful, but also confusing to Vulcans who take language literally."

"I'll try to remember that, Ambassador, though my mother often said I had a sieve for a memory," smiled Trip.

"Point well taken, Captain," said Soval, who then nodded and he and his entourage moved on.

Trip watched T'Pol walk away. He had a sneaking suspicion that T'Pol was angry with him.

"I could use some food," said Trip.

"I see you still know how to make friends with Vulcans," chuckled Malcolm.

"It's a gift," replied Trip.

**UES Enterprise**

Archer exited his ready room, which he thought was big enough for an admiral. Besides being able to hold a staff meeting in there if he wanted to, it had a sofa and a private head. The comforts of a big starship were starting to win him over.

He entered the bridge and the marine on duty snapped to attention and called, "Captain on the bridge."

Archer walked over to his command chair and sat down. It was larger and more ergonomically designed than the one on the _Ares_ with more control and monitoring screens, yet somehow it wasn't as comfortable. He'd have to talk to Kelby about that. His first officer Lieutenant Commander Jeffery Stiles left his monitoring station and walked up beside the command chair.

"Your orders, Captain," said Stiles.

Archer was told he was lucky to get Stiles as an XO. He was in line to get a command, but when offered the XO position on the first NX starship, he said yes. Stiles came from a valiant military family. Generation after generation served honorably.

"Let's see, we have a six month shakedown cruise ahead of us, so let's break some ground," smiled Archer.

He turned his command chair towards the navigation station. Petty Officer 1st Class Arlene Hawn stared at him like a deer waiting to be captured. In his kindest captain voice he gave his orders.

"Nav Officer, bring up our newly acquired Vulcan star charts. I believe there is a planet called Xindus charted on their star charts. Send the coordinates to the helm."

It was a surprise when Soval granted access to these star charts. Along with the exchange program it seemed that Ambassador Soval was opening up to Humans, which was out of character for him.

"Aye, aye, sir," she said.

Next, he swung towards his comm officer Ensign Gilbert LaFleur.

"Mister LaFleur," he started, "begin equipping communications buoys. We'll start dropping some extended our real time communication range."

"Aye, aye, Captain," he said with his French accent barely detectable.

Archer straightened out his command chair then he thumbed the comm button that connected him with the engineering. Kelby answered.

"_Yes, Captain_."

"Mister Kelby, I feel like warp 6. How do your engines feel?" he asked.

"_Warp 6 or better, sir_," he answered.

"Glad to hear it," he said then broke the connection. "XO, it's time to have some fun. Mister Mayweather, plot a course using the Vulcan coordinates for Xindus. When you are ready bring us to warp six."

"Aye, sir," said Travis with a big smile.

"I'll have tactical run simulations on the weapons," said Stiles.

"Sounds like a good idea," said Archer.

Stiles walked over to the busy tactical station and started giving orders. Archer leaned back in his chair and relaxed. Part of him felt a war was coming. There were too many new aggressive players, but he wanted to do some exploring before having to deal with aggressions. His time commanding a frigate made him jealous of the Daedalus Class ships and their mission to explore deep space. Yes, he made first contact with the Andorians and Klingons, but there were so many more alien races out there.

**Trip's Quarters, Presidio**

Trip woke to hear the shower running. Kaori must be showering before leaving, he thought. He looked over at the chronometer beside his bed. It was 0700 hours. Today was an off day for him. He had hoped to spend some more time with Captain Nagura, but it appeared that she had other duties. He sat up in bed and leaned his back against the headboard.

He had low expectations when it came to a relationship with a fellow officer, especially one commanding a starship. Duty and career came before relationships. When he was a chief engineer his duties and ambitions destroyed more than one relationship and being a captain of a ship was even worse on relationship. It appeared that the only ones that you could hold onto were the ones without strings, like the one he had developed with Kaori.

Kaori exited his bathroom wearing nothing but a towel covering her hair. The image of her brought a smile to Trip's face.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked.

"A beautiful naked woman in my quarters," he answered.

"I have a breakfast meeting with Rear Admiral Leonard. I have no idea what he wants to talk about but it is at the officer mess at Starfleet Headquarters, which means I'll get a good meal," she said.

"And I was hoping to have a leisurely morning with you," growled Trip.

"Not this time space stud," she chuckled.

She grabbed her duty uniform, which was hanging up in his closet and took it into the bathroom. Trip sighed. He'd been so busy lately that he didn't know what to do with a day off. Unexpectedly, he wondered what T'Pol was doing today. Did Vulcans take leisure time? He wouldn't mind seeing her today, but the chances were that she was at the Vulcan compound, which was a place he wanted to visit. Maybe he could call Malcolm, he thought.

**The Black Thorn Pub, Oakland**

Malcolm chose The Black Thorn Pub in Oakland to meet Trip. It was an out of the way place used by Section 31 for covert meetings. He dressed in civilian clothes, preferring dark colors. Now that he was back in Intelligence he had to re-establish his contacts with Section 31. Admiral Shin wanted him to liaise with Section 31. She was insistent that Starfleet Intelligence needed a better relationship with Section 31.

He sat down at an empty table. A buxom waitress came over to the table.

"What can I get you, good looking?" she asked.

"I'll take an Artillery," he said.

"A what?" she replied.

"Write this down: four parts gin, one part vermouth, and add some bitters," he told her.

"A martini with bitters," the waitress grinned.

"An Artillery," grinned Malcolm.

"You got it," she said and headed off.

Malcolm scanned the pub. From what he could see there were at least three Section 31 agents there. Before he left he'd leave a message with one of them for Harris. Looking at the door, he saw Trip come in. He was dressed in jeans, a grey Starfleet tee shirt, and wearing a brown leather flight jacket. Trip noticed Malcolm and came over to the table and sat down.

"Hey, Mal, interesting place," said Trip.

"Yeah, I used to come to this place when I didn't want to do the Starfleet bonding at the 602," said Mal.

The waitress returned and looked at Trip. She placed Mal's drink in front of him.

"Run a tab for us, darling," said Malcolm.

"Okay, good looking," said the waitress.

"Hey, handsome, what can I get you?" she said.

Malcolm smirked. He was good looking and Trip was handsome. Sometimes he hated the fact that he had to work harder to interest a woman than Trip. His Southern charm and good looks women, even alien women, seemed to throw themselves at him.

"I'll have a beer. Whatever is on tap," he said.

"Okay, handsome," she said.

Again she went off to get a drink.

"Captain Tucker," smiled Malcolm.

"Commander Reed," Trip returned the smile. "How does it feel to be back in Intelligence?"

"You go where you are commanded, Trip; you know that. If I had my druthers I'd be back on a starship," said Malcolm.

"Who knows, Mal, where you'll be in fifteen months? I know I'll be starting to crew the _Atlantis_ in twelve months. I wouldn't mind have an XO with your tactical skills," said Trip.

"That would be bloody marvelous," said Malcolm. "Though, I doubt Admiral Shin would let me go. She has plans for me, or so she's told me more than once."

"Keep the faith, Malcolm. The NX program is important to several important admirals," said Trip.

"And our intel has to improve, mate," said Malcolm.

The waitress brought over Trip's beer then left the alone. Malcolm picked up his drink and do did Trip. They held their drinks up toast style.

"To friends," said Malcolm.

"To friends," repeated Trip.

They clinked their drinks together then took a sip.

"I missed you, mate," said Malcolm.

"We had our moments under Jon, didn't we?" grinned Trip.

"Captain Archer was a good commander, but I never really made a friend before until I met you, Trip. I had plenty of co-workers, shipmates, and acquaintances, but I never had a friend like you," said Malcolm.

Since they were stepping into personal territory, Trip knew that Malcolm was uncomfortable. There were Vulcans who showed their emotions more than Malcolm.

"If someone told me that I'd ever become close friends with an uptight Englishmen with the emotional control of a Vulcan, I'd have laughed in their faces. Now I trust you as much as I trust Jon," said Trip.

Malcolm smiled then that smile turned in a slightly nasty grin.

"What about this Captain Nagura?" he asked.

"What about her?"

"She's a nice tasty bit of crumpet, isn't she?" he said.

Trip took a swig of his beer.

"You don't expect me to talk about another captain in a pub, Malcolm," Trip sighed.

"So," his smile became wider, "you are shagging her."

Tip blushed.

"Trust me, Mal, it isn't serious. It' just sex," Trip defended himself.

"Mate, it's just sex is pretty good," said Malcolm with a chuckle.

It was just sex and it was pretty good, but Trip wanted more. He picked up his beer and took a long swing.

"If we are going to get legless then you need to drink something stronger than beer," said Malcolm who sipped his drink.

"Okay, I'll a scotch. Looks like I'm getting drunker than Cooter Brown," smiled Trip.

"Who is Cooter Brown?" asked Mal.

"I have no idea."

_**The Enterprise**_

Science Officer Lieutenant Emma Mann scanned the debris around the watery planet was massive. Her sensors estimated that a battle of at least ninety starships took place here and it took place within the last forty-eight hours.

"Captain, this battlefield is no older than forty-eight hours," she announced.

Archer's brow furrowed.

"How many ships?" he asked.

"At least ninety," she answered.

It must have been some battle, Archer thought. He ran his right hand across his face then decided on a course of action.

"XO, tactical alert," said Archer.

"Yes, sir," said Stiles then he went about barking orders. "Tactical Alert. Polarize hulls and have defensive shields on standby! Charge weapons! Secure warp core!"

A loud klaxon began to blare for the next few minutes alerting the whole ship to prepare for tactical alert. When the klaxon stopped Archer gave his next order, "Mayweather, one quarter impulse. Bring us to that water planet."

"Aye, aye, sir," said Mayweather.

The _Enterprise_ slowly made its way through the debris field and towards the water planet. As they got closer and closer, fifteen starships started to approach them.

"Comm, hail those ships and then out me on the com," ordered Archer.

LaFleur went about his work then he said, "You are ready. Captain."

"This is Captain Jonathan Archer of the UES _Enterprise_. We are a ship of exploration and peace. We have come to this area of space looking for allies and to offer friendship. We are not aggressive," Archer stated.

The approaching ships stopped their forward motion and hovered in space. LaFleur received a signal.

"Sir, we have contact," he said.

"Put them on the main view screen," ordered Archer.

On the view screen appeared a Xindi Primate. He had knobby hair, a slightly ridge forehead, ridges on their cheekbones, and no eyebrows. He spoke.

"I am Captain Tenga. You have arrived during a difficult time, Captain Archer, as we are going through a civil war. The planet below is called Azati Prime. Do you wish to visit without leadership?" he asked.

Archer looked over at Stiles, who nodded his head in the negative. This brought a smile to Archer's face.

"Captain, I would be honored to meet with your leadership," said Archer.

"I will send one of our shuttles over to pick you up. You can bring two others with you," said Tenga.

"Understood, Captain. I look forward to meeting you in person," said Archer.

The view screen returned to the image of the ships and planet. Archer got up from his chair.

"Mr. Stiles, you have the con," he said. "Lieutenant Mann and Lieutenant LaFleur, you are coming with me."

Archer strode off the bridge with the two lieutenants in tow. Stiles signal for a replacement science officer and comm officer then he sat down in the command chair. He knew Archer was known for taking chances, but he had hoped that didn't mean walking onto an alien ship without an exit strategy.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four

**Azati Prime Meeting Room**

Archer felt as if he was on the wrong side of fishbowl, as he observed the Xindi Aquatics swim from window to window, while the Xindi Primates and Xindi Arboreals sat at a dais staring at the new Human arrivals. Though he felt on display and in jeopardy of being judged, Archer stood their giving the impression of a confident and righteous man.

An Arobreal began speaking, "I am councilman Jannar. Excuse our cautious nature but this civil war has taxed our politeness."

Archer touched the small earpiece in his left ear that was connected to his universal translator. He was satisfied with the translation. He looked over a LaFleur, who had been making adjustments to the UT and nodded his approval.

"I am sorry to hear about your civil war. How did it start?" Archer asked.

"The Reptilians and Insectoids have dreams of conquering other races," said a Primate. "I am Councilman Degra."

"They are aggressive by nature and wish to push beyond our space," added Hannar.

"My names is Kiaphet," said one of the Aquatics. "Scans of your ship show war capabilities greater than our own ships, yet you still say you are peace seekers."

"Humans believe in peace, but we do not back down from war. We'd prefer to sign treaties and develop alliance, but we are willing to defend ourselves and those who we are allied with," said Archer.

"I would be interested in reading a history of your planet," said Kiaphet.

"If you are willing to supply a history of your people, I would be willing to have my science officer download historical texts from our computers to you," offered Archer.

"This can be arranged," said Kiaphet.

"Your people put a high appreciation on alliances?" said Jannar with interest.

"Yes, we do," answered Archer.

"Why?" asked Degra.

"From trading treaties to war treaties to treaties signed saying you'll leave each other alone, we Humans believe that they are a matter of honor and need to be kept. There have been Humans in our past who have not kept treaties, but they have paid a great price," explained Archer. "Starfleet and United Earth stand behind their treaties."

"Captain, will you be able to spend some time with us?" asked Jannar. "We can arrange for your crew to take leave on Azati. Be our guests."

"I accept your officer, councilman," said Archer.

"Good. Feel free to contact whomever you may have to contact," said Jannar.

"I shall," said Archer.

**The Atlas, Yorktown-Class Destroyer**

Trip nodded his head in approval as he read the PADD and reviewed the work T'Pol and Lieutenant Commander Burch did without him. The warp engine was up and working, so now they could get the fine tuning done. The _Atlas_ would be ready for trails soon. Looking up from is PADD he saw T'Pol, wearing coveralls much like his own, entering Engineering with Burch. It appeared that Burch was talking her ear off, as she patiently nodded now and again. They walked up to him.

"You did great work," he said.

"Thank you, Captain," said Burch.

"I was thinking of telling Jefferies that you should be the chief engineer of this ship when it leaves dock. What do you think?" asked Trip.

"I would appreciate that, sir," said Burch.

Trip grinned. Burch would make a good chief engineer. The _Atlas_ would be in good hands. Trip turned his attention to T'Pol. He was glad to see her, but, unfortunately, she didn't seem glad to see him. Though, he didn't count himself an expert in reading Vulcans, he thought a blind man could see that she was more distant and cool towards him this morning. Her greeting nod barely registered.

"So, Subcommander, did you the launch of the _Enterprise_?" he asked.

"It was informative," she said coolly.

Trip felt as if she didn't want to talk to him. He looked at the PADD in his hand and signed off on a few procedures then he handed the PADD to Burch.

"Here you go, Burch. We need to get these things done before we test these engines," he said.

Burch took the PADD, came to attention, and then he headed off to get the work done. T'Pol stood there stiffly waiting for her orders.

"Do you have duties for me, Captain?" she asked.

"I'll have something for you soon, Subcommander," said Trip, as he looked over another PADD he had picked up. "Follow me, Subcommander."

"Where are we going?" asked T'Pol.

"To get some coffee. I really need a cup. I'm feeling a bit tired today," said Trip.

She purposely walked behind him. When they got to the mess hall, Trip grabbed a mug then he fixed himself a hot mug of coffee, cream, and sugar. T'Pol got herself a mug of mint tea then she followed Trip to an empty table. They sat down.

"The _Enterprise_ is a beautiful ship," remarked Trip. "Well designed lines. I've read some of the plans for the _Atlantis_. It is going to be even bigger. What do you think?"

"Aesthetically functional," she said.

Trip looked at her as if she had two heads. He took a sip of his coffee. T'Pol didn't want to admit it, but she found Captain Tucker's presence annoying this morning. It was almost an emotional response that shouldn't be there.

"I doubt this ship will get a big send off with the media and dignitaries showing up like the _Enterprise_," said Trip.

"Did you have an agreeable evening with Captain Nagura?" T'Pol asked Trip.

Trip felt a little burn in his cheeks. There was a hint of accusation in her tone. The question not only took him by surprise, it made him feel as if he got caught doing something he shouldn't be doing.

"Captain Nagura is a friend," he said then felt lame for having said it.

"I reviewed Starfleet's Personnel Code of Conduct. It is not a violation to have a relationship with a fellow officer, as long as you are of the same rank and you are not in the same chain of command," stated T'Pol. "There is even latitude given when not of equal rank, as long as they are not in the same chain of command."

"I know the Personnel Code of Conduct," growled Trip, as he started to get angry. "Captain Nagura is just a friend."

"Really?" T'Pol said then lifted her right eyebrow so high it almost disappeared into her hairline.

"Yeah, really, Subcommander," spat Trip.

"I thought by the pheromones released between the two of you that you must be partaking in sexual intercourse. I apologize if I am mistaken," she said coolly.

"Oh, really, well, that's interesting. Not that it is any of your business, but why would you care about who I was having a relationship with?" he asked her.

T'Pol raised her right eye brow this time in a manner that made him feel like something found in a Petrie dish. Trip found that his anger was building up inside of him. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"I am trying to understand Humanity better, including their interpersonal dynamics. Again, I apologize if I offended you," she stated without a trace of humor, irony, or bullshit.

Trip sighed. T'Pol knowing that Kaori and he were having a fling bothered him. It shouldn't but it did.

"I'd rather you not study me and my interpersonal relationships," said Trip.

He picked up the PADD and handed it to T'Pol.

"We need to make sure that all the relays are upgraded and plasma conduits have the higher quality seals. I'll leave that duty in your capable hands. Pick some techs and get it done. I'll be in the captain's ready room. I need to talk to Admiral Forest and Vice Admiral Jefferies about where we should report to next, since I think tomorrow should be our last day here," Trip explained.

"Yes, Captain," she said with the PADD in her hand.

Trip stood up, gave T'Pol a cursory nod, picked up his mug of coffee then he left. T'Pol watched him leave then she took a sip of her tea. She felt that it was a satisfactory meeting.

**A café in Paris**

Salan sat in the outdoor section of the café enjoying a cup of coffee and a plain croissant. Since it was a chilly 16 degrees Celsius, he wore a wool cap pulled down over his ears, a black shirt and black pants, and a Starfleet regulation pea coat. Salan enjoyed the older sections of Paris. As he read a PADD with information on both a Cistercian Monastery and a Buddhist Vihara, he sipped the coffee.

Most Vulcans disliked coffee. It overstimulated the system and the taste was so strong that it needed to be regulated by sweetener and a creamer. Just like most Vulcans avoided alcohol, even the alcohol produced on Vulcan such as port and brandy. Salan enjoyed coffee, just as he enjoyed the taste of the buttery croissant and the occasional drink. Overstimulation was a test of his discipline and he liked to test his discipline.

Food was another Vulcan fetish. For a Vulcan food was something necessary in order to keep the body functioning and noting more. Taking pleasure from food was supposed to be unseemly, yet plomeek soup was preferred by many Vulcans over ulan soup. Vulcans did have preferences when it came to food. Without admitting it they enjoyed the taste of one soup over the taste of another.

Salan looked up from his PADD and saw a slightly portly man with greying reddish hair dressed all in black with a black overcoat standing in front of him. He smiled at Salan.

"May I sit down?" he asked.

His body posture and directness told Salan that he was not a threat at the moment. The man had an aura of danger about him, but it was not directed at him right now.

"Please do," he said.

The man sat down across from Salan.

"My name is Harris," he said.

Salan lifted a right eyebrow. So, this was Harris, the head of Section 31.

"The head of Section 31," stated Salan.

"I see you know about the organization I oversee," said Harris. "I must admit that you in the V'Shar are talented, very talented. I respect a good intelligence agency."

"The same can be said for Section 31. Humans seem to have a gift for intelligence," replied Salan.

"We serve a purpose," smiled Harris.

Salan sipped his coffee then ate some more of his croissant.

"You are eating with your hands. I thought Vulcans wore special gloves when they had to touch their food," said Harris.

"When in Rome," countered Salan.

"It has come to my attention that you have a Romulan problem on Vulcan. This problem could have an effect on Earth and Humans, so I am willing to make it our problem, also. I have a proposal for you," said Harris.

"A proposal," repeated Salan with both eyebrows raised.

"Shall we go somewhere more private, Salan, and discuss things?" said Harris.

"I agree. This should be fascinating," he said.

"You can be my guest for lunch. Have you ever had Indian food?" he asked.

"No, I haven't, though I enjoy sampling Human foods," said Salan.

"They have many interesting vegetarian dishes and all of them are flavorful. I think you like it," Harris told him.

"I have been known to indulge in meat, so you don't have to worry about vegetarian dishes alone," Salan informed him.

"Really," smiled Harris. "You are a remarkable Vulcan."

"Not so much remarkable as adaptable," said Salan.

"I call my transport," Harris stated.

**Starfleet Headquarter, two weeks later**

Things had finally settled down between Trip and T'Pol. Her studied of Human relationships must have been over, he concluded. After the _Atlas_ they tackled the I_ndefatigable_ and the _Erin_. He had developed a manpower intensive protocol that got the Yorktown Class starships warp engines upgraded in a week, allowing for four weeks to upgrade and refit armor, weapons, and configuration of decks. The crew would max out at 275 now, including marines. Noncoms would have to double up in their quarters, but the Yorktown Class would be a comfortable ship to crew on.

Trip had been called to Starfleet Headquarters by Admiral Forest for a meeting with Admiral Roddenberry, Vice Admiral Jefferies, and newly appointed Admiral Gardner, who was now Chief of Mission Operations under Admiral Forest. Trip showed up and was directed to the situation room on the fiftieth floor. He made his way there as quickly as possible. As he was being escorted into the situation room by security, he saw Captain Archer on a large view screen. He was talking to Gardner, Forest, and Roddenberry. Trip was shown into a glass encased room where Jefferies was waiting for him.

"Admiral," he said.

"Captain Tucker," said Jefferies. "Good job with the Yorktown Class. Your protocols and modifications have the Corp of Engineers working triple shifts, but we are going to get these Yorktown Class ships ready sooner than we anticipated."

"The Corp of Engineers is probably cursing my name," said Trip.

"Probably," smiled Jefferies.

Jefferies brought up a holographic image of the _Columbia_ from the smart table. Trip observed the image. The NX starships were definitely beautiful in his eyes.

"We are a week away from commissioning the _Columbia_," stated Jefferies.

"Things seem to be stepping up," said Trip.

"For a reason," replied Jefferies, who then saw the other admirals readying to enter. "Forest will explain."

The door opened and the admirals entered. They had serious faces ironed on. Trip hoped that Jon wasn't in trouble.

"Captain Tucker," Forest greeted Trip. "Things are getting complicated."

Trip nodded.

"You are being pulled from your task of helping with the Yorktown Class and the smaller Marshall Class destroyers," said Forest. "You'll put all your effort now on the Atlantis. We want it to be ready within seven months and be the biggest, toughest, fastest, and strongest ship in the fleet."

"Take over its final design and construction, Captain Tucker," said Roddenberry.

"Yes, sir," said Trip. "Are we preparing for a war?"

Roddenberry looked at Forest and nodded in the affirmative. Forest stepped forward.

"As one of the NX captains who have the highest security clearance," stated Forest. "Currently, Captain Archer is in the process of negotiating a treaty with some of the Xindi. It appears that the Xindi are a race made up of several different species and some of those favor peace and some don't. If the treaty is made then we will come to the support of the Xindi with five Yorktown Class destroyers, twenty Intrepid Class frigates, and twenty Daedalus Class cruisers. Captain Archer will be in charge of the fleet."

"It's usual for us to get involved in something like this. It's a civil war," said Trip.

"A civil war were one of the parties is aggressive and has plans on conquering outside of its territory. We are making sure that the aggressive Xindi never invade our space by making an ally of those who want peace," said Roddenberry. "The times we are living in are becoming increasingly dangerous, Captain. President Samuels is preparing to send a delegation to Archer in order to assist with the treaty. Further out into deep space we go the more aggressive some of the races are."

"We have intel showing the Klingons amassing a small fleet on their bounder closest to our space," said Gardner.

"Starfleet has to be able to protect Earth and its colonies, as well as explore space," said Roddenberry.

"Your NX will be meant more for battle than exploration, Trip," said Forest. "Can you handle that?"

"If that's want you need, sir; then I can handle it," said Trip.

Trip didn't like the idea of a building a starship that was more battleship than explorer, but he was being told that Earth and Starfleet need a battleship. Since joining Starfleet, Trio had come to appreciate doing one's duty.

"Will T'Pol still assist me?" he asked.

"Ambassador Soval wishes that she stay in her current position. I'm told that she could be invaluable in strengthening our defensive shields," said Forest. "Do you have a problem with her serving with you?"

"No, sir," said Trip.

"Good," said Forest. "She is part of you crew until further notice."

**Section 31 underground base, Sea of Tranquility, Moon**

It had taken weeks to arrange the meeting. Harris was always elusive at best, but when he didn't want to be contacted he was impossible to find. The fact this meeting was taking place meet that Harris wanted Lieutenant Commander Malcolm Reed for some mission. Admiral Shin would be happy, at least, thought Mal, as he entered the meeting room.

Malcolm looked the room over. It was a grey box without any decorations. Considering the look of the room, Malcolm assumed it was impervious to tapping and recordings, though there was one camera that he noticed. There was a table set with plates, flatware, and glasses. He guessed they were having lunch. There were three places.

Malcolm sat down at one head of the table and poured himself some water in a crystal glass. He took a sip. It was cool and refreshing. Once he put the glass down, he just sat there and waited.

Harris and Salan observed Malcolm on a monitor. After ten minutes of observing the placid and still Lieutenant Commander Reed, Harris spoke.

"So what do you think?" he asked Salan.

"His emotional control is more than satisfactory. He shows no signs of being nervous or any emotion at that. You said that he is a trained agent," said Salan.

"He is a former Section 31 agent. He also served as a tactical officer on a frigate commanded by Jonathan Archer. Currently, he is assigned to Starfleet Intelligence, but he will work us me if I request it," said Harris. "Admiral Shin wants to forge a better relationship between Starfleet Intelligence and Section 31."

"Some surgery and medical intervention to have his Human blood appear to be Vulcan blood, as well as training by me, and he could pass for Vulcan," said Salan.

"I'll give you his file to read," said Harris.

"Your proposal of sending a Human agent and myself back to Vulcan in order to collect intelligence and begin to expose the Romulan deep cover agents is a risky one," said Salan. "In the beginning we will have both the Romulans and Vulcans against. Our only allies will be those I trust and I do not wish to expose them to danger."

"Then you better be real good at your job," said Harris.

"I am. Is Mister Reed?" asked Salan.

"He's the best we have," said Harris.

"I suggest that we have lunch then. It is time that I get to know my new partner," said Salan. "Especially since I am getting hungry I have been promised barbecue ribs for lunch."

"I guess it time for you and Malcolm to meet then," said Harris then he smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Five

**Xindi Space, Three Month Later**

Norellus was an important planet for both sides of the Xindi Civil War. It was rich in duetrium and had several duetrium processing planets on it. Currently the Reptilians and Insectoids held Norellus, but Archer was leading a combined task force against them. Sitting in his command chair, he reviewed his task force makeup. He currently had one Yorktown Class destroyer, ten Intrepid Class frigate, and ten Daedalus Class cruisers along with ten Xindi Arboreal ships and ten Xindi Primate ships.

In the beginning the Civil War had been in Reptilians and Insectoids, but that changed with the addition of Starfleet starships. The additional ships added not only support, but Archer became the de facto fleet commander. His leadership and skills had the Reptilians and Insectoids on the run.

Archer stood up and looked over at Stiles. His XO stepped away from his monitoring station.

"Stiles you have the conn. I'll be in the situation room," said Archer, who then looked over at the commanding marine on his ship, Major Hayes. "Hayes, with me."

The marine, who was dressed in all black jumpsuit with rank on his collar and assignment patch on his right sleeve, snapped to attention.

"Yes, sir," said Hayes.

Three decks down in what was originally designed as engineering before the engineering hull was added to the design, there was a secondary battle bridge and large situation room. They entered to see the situation room busy with petty officers and ensigns communication with the other ships, as well as tracking enemy forces and other information. Archer walked over to a petty officer, who was manning the smart table.

"Bring up Task Force- Push Back," he ordered.

The petty officer quickly brought up a holographic image of the task force. Archer stared at the task force for several minutes. Finally, he broke from his deep reflection.

"Get Ensign LaFleur down here," he ordered.

The petty office relayed the offered to the bridge.

"You have a plan, sir?" asked Major Hayes.

"We are going to split our task force. The Yorktown Class destroyer, The _Erin_, will lead the ten frigates and the Arboreal Xindi ships in what we will call group B and the Enterpriser will lead the ten Daedalus and the ten Primate ships in what we call group A. We'll drop out of warp first and lead the first attack, while the Erin and the other ships warp past Norellus then turn around and attack from the other side. I want to hit them from two different directions," stated Archer.

"A pincer maneuver," stated Hayes.

Archer smiled.

"Remember what the Aquatics said about the Reptilians and Insectoids are fierce fighters, but the Insectoids will break discipline and panic if you rattle them hard enough. I want the _Erin_ and group B to concentrate on Insectoid ships only. I want our ships to rattle their cages," explained Archer.

"You want to cause a split in their forces," said Hayes.

"If we spook the Insectoids and they retreat then it'll be just the Reptilians ships," grinned Archer. "The Aquatics and Primates are the superior scientists, while the Arboreals are the engineers and builders. The Reptilians and Insectoids are just warriors. They can't build replacement for the ships they lose. We are going to make this a short war of attrition where we put the pressure on them and we don't let up until they have nothing left and have to sue for peace."

"Very good plan," said Hayes.

"I want you to coordinate marines from several ships to go planetside once the battle is won. They'll probably hostiles down there," said Archer.

"Yes, sir," smiled Hayes. "We'll clean up the planet."

"I know you will, Major," said Archer.

LaFleur entered the situation room.

"Take the communication station, Ensign," said Archer. "We have some coordinating to do."

"Aye, aye, sir," he responded.

**Starfleet Research and Development Facility, Groom Lake, NV **

A VIP shuttle landed at the pad. A marine lieutenant along with four PFCs waited for the shuttle door to open. The first individual to step out of the shuttle was Subcommander T'Pol followed by Captain Tucker. They both presented their security passes to the marine officer, who ran them through on a PADD.

"Captain Tucker," he said handing back the passes. Subcommander T'Pol. I am First Lieutenant Elliot March. I'm part of base security. If you'll follow me."

They were escorted by the marines in the facility. After passing through the security stops, they reached an exit. Lieutenant March spoke.

"Outside the door is a hovercar which will bring you the test site. The driver is Master Chief Ramona Mendez," he said.

"We walked through this facility just to get to a door with a hovercar waiting for us," smiled Trip.

"Inefficient," said T'Pol with a raised left eyebrow.

Trip suppressed a smile. The longer he was exposed to T'Pol the more he noticed that she had a sense of humor. It was a subtle, dry sense of humor and often had a hint of sarcasm. He came to enjoy it, but then again he came to enjoy T'Pol's company in general.

"Sorry, sir, but this is the way things are done around here," said March.

"Don't worry about it, Lieutenant," said Trip.

He and T'Pol exited and got into the hovercar. The Master Chief took off.

"Where are we headed to, chief?" Trip asked.

"You'll see, sir," she said.

The hovercar sped along for a half hour finally stopping at a bunker where the Mach 10 rail gun was waiting to be fire. Trip stared at the rail gun and then grinned.

"Chief, what does it fire?" he asked.

"An intelligent missile with a yield of 20 isotons," she grinned. "But to be honest if you put a big piece of metal in the rail gun and fired it the metal would go through whatever ship you aimed at, just as long as their shields were down."

"That's a big bad gun," chuckled Trip.

"You can say that again," said Mendez, as they got out of the hovercar.

"What is this rail gun designed for?" asked T'Pol.

"Orbital defense satellites to protect Earth and Earth colonies," she replied then the chief looked at Trip. "Why are you interested in the rail gun, sir?"

"I'm thinking of putting a couple on my starship, chief," answered Trip.

"Now that I would like to see," said Mendez.

"I may need someone like you to run the weapon, chief. You may get a chance," said Trip.

**Section 31, Sea of Tranquility, Moon **

In the gym of the hidden facility two forms rolled, performed dropkicks, throws, and more. Both Salan and Reed were wearing black gi. Malcolm was amazed at the fluidity and strength that Salan possessed. He had heard that Vulcans were stronger than Humans but he didn't realize just how much stronger they were. As for Salan he was satisfied with how proficient Malcolm had become in the marital arts he trained him in. Malcolm Reed could pass for Vulcan.

Malcolm stood up after Salan hip tossed him hard to the floor. He kept as calm a face as possible knowing that Salan was looking for flaws in his emotional control.

"Excellent, Malcolm. I have taught you the basics of Vulcan marital arts Suus Mahna, V'Shan, and Sal-tor-fee. I have also added some Mok'bara. Your lack of strength shouldn't hinder you know if you had to face a foe one on one without a phase pistol," said Salan. "You are proficient and determined."

"Are we ready?" asked Malcolm.

"Your emotional control has been satisfactory, also. We are ready," said Salan. "Now remember our purpose is to infiltrate the Romulan cell on Vulcan. We must pass ourselves off as Tal Shiar, Romulan elite intelligence service," said Salan.

"How do we manage to do that?" asked Malcolm.

"Harris is tracking a Vulcan merchant ship that had disappeared for a time in Romulan territory. He will have the ship stopped and brought to Proxima. The two merchants on that ship will be brought here. If I'm not mistaken they are Tal Shiar agents being sent to Vulcan with important information," said Salan.

"How do we crack them?" asked Mal.

"I mind meld with them," he answered.

Malcolm looked at him as if he had grown another head.

"I enter their mind with my mind and take the information from them. Even though Romulans are a cousin to Vulcans, as I have explained to you and Harris, they do not possess our telepathic abilities. If they are who we think they are we will take the information, their contact names, and their identities and travel to Vulcan," Salan told him.

"And the Tal Shiar agents?" asked Malcolm.

"Harris will dispose of them," said Salan.

Malcolm grimaced. Salan respected Malcolm's reaction to such killing. As a Vulcan who followed the ways of Surak life was sacred to him, but as V'Shar, he did what he had to do in order to protect Vulcan.

"It must be done, Malcolm," said Salan. "Once we are on Vulcan we will have to pass as Vulcans when we are with Vulcans and pass as Romulans when we are with Romulans. This will be easier for you than me. Romulans do not suppress their emotions. I will have to laugh, smile, joke, eat meat, and act like a cold blooded killer. Now you know why I am so adaptable and why I do not always act like a Vulcan. I have been trained to infiltrate and pass as a Romulan."

"Now I just need to look like a Vulcan and we are ready to start this mission," said Malcolm.

"I shall tell Harris to prepare for the surgery and the medical intervention. Within three weeks you will look like a Vulcan and even bleed like one," said Salan. "In three months we will be on Vulcan."

"Will we have support on Vulcan?" asked Malcolm.

"Not as much as I would like. Before we leave I will tell Soval what we are doing. He will let the few V'Shar I trust know that I am attempting infiltrate the cell. If in jeopardy we will have to seek out those I trust," explained Salan.

"So, mainly we will have to rely on each other," said Malcolm.

"Yes," said Salan.

"I can live with that," Malcolm said then he smiled.

"How Romulan of you?" joked Salan.

**Starfleet Complex, San Diego, CA.**

San Diego housed the Corp of Engineer Headquarters as well as one of the marine's largest training centers and bases. Trip had been given a temporary office in the Corp of Engineer complex. Several of the NX starships' construction was moved to Proxima shipyards. Nagura, Hunter, and Kahn were now stationed near their ships starting to build their crews. The _Columbia_ and the _Challenger_ had been launched. So far the NX program was a success.

Trip sat at his desk nursing his fourth mug of coffee for the day, as we reviewed the modification and upgrades he wanted to make to the NX Class. T'Pol sat across from him sipping a green tea.

"You should drink tea instead of coffee. It is better for you," she spoke up.

"Yeah but it doesn't keep me awake or focused. I can easily live on five hours a sleep a day, but I've been pushing it lately and getting only three hours a night. I want this ship to be the best in the fleet," stated Trip.

"You are Human; you need proper sleep," T'Pol said. "You cannot keep up this pace."

"I'm not working this weekend. I'm going to try and get some rest then," he said.

"You are seeing Captain Nagura this weekend," assumed T'Pol.

"No, I am seeing my baby sister Lizzy, as well as visiting with my Cousin William Tucker, who is a senior at Starfleet Academy. I know it doesn't sound restful," said Trip.

"You should definitely rest," she stated. "And cut down on the coffee. You are only Human."

Trip grinned at that statement.

"You know I think that means something different to you than it does to me," said Trip. "For you it means that I am inferior in some ways, but for me it means that I am going to push myself beyond my limitations."

"I am merely concerned for your health, Captain," she replied.

"Am I ever going to get you to call me Trip?" he asked.

"There is always the possibility," she said.

Trip observed the slightly raised left eyebrow. She was joking with him. Trip sat back and stared at his assistant with a smile on his face.

"You should join me, my sister, and cousin for dinner on Saturday. We are getting Italian food. I think you'd like it. They offer plenty of meatless dishes," said Trip.

"Is this an invitation, Captain?" T'Pol asked.

"Yes, Subcommander, it is," Trip replied.

T'Pol appeared to contemplate his invitation for a moment. Trip waited as she went through whatever decision making process she needed to go through. A slight turn of her head to the right he was sure the answer was going to be yes.

"Yes, Captain, I accept your invitation," she said.

"Excellent, T'Pol. I think you'll enjoy yourself," he said.

**Beta Quadrant near Horst, Two months later. **

The ECS Long Hauler _Traveler_ emergency beacon signal was picked by the C_hallenger. _Captain AG Robinson exited his ready room and took his command chair. His XO Michele Ang stood beside the chair waiting to fill him in on the situation.

"Both Science and Comm picked up the _Traveler_'s emergency beacon. At warp 6 we can reach the signal in fifteen minutes," she told him.

"Let's go to Tactical Alert," he said to his XO then he spoke up. "Helm, at warp 6 take us to the emergency beacon."

"Aye, aye, sir," said the helmsman.

The XO started to walk away, but AG stopped her.

"XO, this is close to Andorian space. Have the comm contact Andoria and fill them in on the situation. I don't want any friction with them," he said.

"Yes, Captain," she said then walked over to the comm station.

AG crossed his legs and took a relaxed posture. It was part of reputation to take things in stride. Though, outwardly he was relaxed his mind was working what they were probably going to face. The chances were that it was pirates, but besides being near Andorian space, Horst was near Romulan space. He didn't like that.

His XO was once again beside his chair.

"Andoria is dispatching two of their destroyers in case we need assistance," said Ang.

AG nodded. The helmsman spoke up.

"Sir, we are nearing the beacon signal," he said.

"Drop out of warp," he told the helmsman then he looked over at the science station. "Begin active scanning, Mister Gracia."

"Yes, sir," said Gracia.

With a slight shudder the _Challenger_ dropped out of warp. It did not take long for their sensors to pick up a debris field that was once the _Traveler_.

"Sir, debris field to our port," said Gracia. "I am picking up the Traveler's black box."

"Beam it aboard then start sweeping the area for warp trails and heat signatures," said AG.

"Yes, sir," said Gracia.

"I want to know who did this to an Earth cargo ship," growled AG.

"Sir, we should Starfleet Command about this," said his XO.

"I agree," snapped AG. "Let's see if we can find out who did this."

**New Xindus**

Archer stood in the situation room with Degra and Jannar. Stiles commanded the _Enterprise_ while Archer remained in the situation room to command the fleet. He was looking over what appeared to be the last remains of the Reptilians and Insectoids fleet and their defense of new Xindus.

"I want the Aquatic ships to be paired with our frigates. They have superior shielding which the frigates can hide behind hitting them hard and then running to hide behind the Aquatic ships. This will allow the frigates to stay in the battle longer and be more effective," said Archer.

"I shall inform the Aquatics," said Jannar.

"The _Erin_ will take the lead with Daedalus Class and half the Arboreal ships. This will leave all the Primate ships and the rest of the Arboreal ships being led by the _Enterprise_," said Archer.

"We are going to hit them from three different directions," said Degra as he studied the holographic map of Xindus.

"I want us to come out of warp at the same time and hit them hard and keep the pressure on until they buckle," said Archer.

"What about those innocent Xindi on the ground?" asked Jannar.

"Major Hayes has that covered," Archer said then nodded at Hayes.

Hayes stepped forward. He stood there at attention with his back stiff and unbending. In his eyes there was a glint of anticipation.

"I will lead one hundred marines along with an additional two hundred Xindi down to infil the planet. During the battle Two Daedalus and two Xindi ships will break of the attack, make orbit, and drop shields, and then emergency beam downs will begin. Two Xindi has been equipped with transporter tech. We need to make the beam down quick and efficient, so that the starships aren't left exposed for too long," he explained.

"Once you are on New Xindus what will happen?" asked Jannar.

"We will take out hostiles and protect the civilian population as much as we can, sir," said Hayes.

Jannar looked at Degra, who face was a mask of seriousness. He had family on the ground.

"Is that enough men?" asked Degra.

"No offense, sir, but my marines are the best. Where we lack in superior strength or stamina, we make up for it in training, discipline, and a willingness to do what it takes to complete our mission," said Hayes.

"Very well, Major," said Degra.

**ShiKahr, Vulcan**

Salan landed the freighter at the Vulcan Civilian Authority Dock. He and a now Vulcan looking Malcolm exited the ship and made their way to security where they presented their papers and security tags.

"I am Spovek and this is Tivak," he introduced them to the security guards.

Malcolm offered the Ta'al and said, "Live long and prosper."

The security guard nodded. They checked the papers and ran the security tags. Salan and Malcolm stood their calmly looking undisturbed. The security guard finished up.

"Welcome back to Vulcan," said the security guard as he handed back the papers and security tags.

"It is agreeable to be home," said Malcolm.

Salan and Malcolm made their way out of the Civilian Authority Dock. Once they were out of the building, Malcolm finally was introduced to the heat and gravity of Vulcan. He now understood all the hours that Salan had him train under artificial heat and excessive gravity. This was going to be his home for now and he had to act like he belonged there.

"It is good to be home," said Salan.

"Where do we go first?" asked Malcolm.

"We find a place to stay and then we start searching for our Tal Shiar contact here on Vulcan," said Salan.

"I could use a cool drink," mumbled Malcolm in Vulcan.

"Tea, not tea. You can drink cool water and hot tea, until we are with the Tal Shiar then you can enjoy whatever drink you like," said Salan.

"I understand," said Malcolm.

"Now, I remember a cheap hotel around here with weekly rates," said Salan. "Follow me."

Under the hot Vulcan suns Malcolm followed Salan through the crowd and they made their way to a place to stay.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

**Vulcan **

Salan and Malcolm in their pain Vulcan robes wondered around the bazaar. Malcolm had never seen such a quiet, discipline merchant bazaar in his life. Items and foods were sold with efficiency and usually without words exchanged. Salan keyed in on a particular Vulcan in a High Command uniform. From the rank insignia Malcolm could see that he was a captain. They approached him.

"I am Spovek and this is Tivak," Salan said to him.

Malcolm respectfully nodded his head.

"We are merchants in search of the unique and exotic," said Salan.

"I am Captain Spann," the officer said. "Shall we share a meal?"

"It is the right time of day," said Salan.

The code phrases were exchange. This was their contact on Vulcan. Malcolm glanced at Salan's right hand. He made a gesture that told Malcolm to stay on guard.

"Follow me," said Spann.

They followed Spann out of the bazaar and towards a grouping of low level buildings. Malcolm's Vulcan was improved but not perfect, so he read the sign of the building they were headed into. It read: Long term lodgings. They entered the building. Its walls were the color of sand and it was starkly decorated.

The moment they entered the door locked and three armed Vulcans, or Romulans, Malcolm corrected himself, came out of rooms. Spann turned looked at Salan and Malcolm. Gone was his passive face: he had a grim smile on his face now.

"What are your names, rank, and security code?" he demanded in a voice filled with emotion.

"I am Colonel Veral. Security code is 342 Alpha, Theta, 55," said Salan.

Spann stared at Malcolm next.

"I am Major Livak. Security code 789 Beta Beta 33," he said. "Lihursa."

Malcolm threw in the Romulan curse word then he smiled. Spann looked at him for a moment then he laughed. Salan joined the laughter. Vulcans just didn't have the gift of cursing.

"It's good to see real Romulans. We are tiring of Vulcans and their coldness and lack of life," said Spann.

Coming down the stair was an attractive Romulan woman, or Vulcan woman, Malcolm kept reminding himself. She walked with her hips freely moving and not hiding her sexuality.

"We have guests, S'anra," said Spann.

"I can see that, Khoal," said S'anra.

She came down and looked at Salan up close. He grinned at her. Next, she moved on to Malcolm.

"Small one, aren't you?" she said.

"Not where it counts," he retorted.

S'anra laughed then said, "I like this one. We have some Romulan Ale and brandy in the back. Come tell us your message and we can have a few drinks before getting down to business."

"You must be Colonel S'anra," said Malcolm. "Beautiful and dangerous, I like that in a female."

"A true Tal Shiar, do you care about rank?" she smiled.

"I respect rank," Malcolm corrected her.

"If you say so, Livak," said S'anra then she offered me a sensuous smile.

"It appears that these two want some time alone," chuckled Salan. "Unfortunately, I want some ale and have a message to share."

"Good point, Veral," said Khoal. Again, most pf the men laughed, as if Malcolm was doomed.

**Mars Orbital Spacedock**

T'Pol walked along the enclosed catwalk that connected the _Atlantis_ with the spacedock. Entering the Atlantis she headed for the large engineering section. Since the turbolifts were down, she used the ladders finally making it to engineering. The pneumatic doors opened and she was hit with a mix of yelling, banging of tools, smells of oils, lubricants, and Human sweat, and heat. The air conditioning was down, yet the plasma was flowing. She was up to Lieutenant Commander Hess.

"Captain Tucker," she said.

"Oh, hell," Hess mumbled, as she pushed herself away from the antimatter injector. "Trip is crawling around in the Jefferies tubes. I think he is bitching about lowest bidder providing regulators and phase coils."

"I have an important message for him," said T'Pol.

Hess lifted her hand and listened for a moment.

"If you lie down with dogs and, of course, you gonna wake up with fleas," came loudly the colorful statement from Jefferies tube.

Hess pointed to the tube and T'Pol made her way over just in time to see Trip drop down from the ceiling. His coverall was off his upper body and his black tee shirt was soaked with sweat to his body. His face was covered with a yellow lubricant. Trip peeled off his back tee shirt off and then started to wipe his face with it.

T'Pol observed this sight with a cool distance. She noticed the muscularity of Captain Tucker. Aesthetically, she found his body agreeable. Now that it was covered with sweat and those muscles were well worked, she found him, or she should state his aesthetic value, very agreeable. Trip wiped the lubricant out of his eyes and off his face then he looked around engineering.

"Petty Officer," he called to a passing PO.

"Yes, sir," said the Petty Officer.

"There is a leak of the lubricant that keeps the phase coil cooled down. Please, get up there and repair the leak and make sure the lubricant flows," he said.

"Yeah, sir," said the PO.

Trip turned to see T'Pol staring at him. For a moment he was embarrassed but then he reminded himself that she was Vulcan and felt nothing for him.

"Can I help you, T'Pol?" he asked.

"Your sister called me to remind you about your cousin's graduation this weekend. She expects you to be there along with your uncle and other cousins," she stated.

"I'm gonna have to wear those new casual dress uniform for that," he sighed. "I swear the dress uniforms are more comfortable."

He looked at T'Pol, who continued to just stand there and stare at him.

"Anything else?"

"Your sister also invited me to the graduation ceremony. I told her that I need your permission to go," she said.

"Oh hell, of course, you can come to the graduation, T'Pol. I'd rather have you on my arm than Lizzy. She is my sister and I love her, but sisters don't make for good dates," Trip remarked.

"I shall be honored," said T'Pol.

As if she was hit with too much data and stimuli all at once T'Pol grimaced. Trip noticed.

"Nasal inhibitor wear off?" he asked.

"I am afraid so," she said.

She was now inundated with too many scents and stenches. The only one that offered her any comfort was Trip's, which she now had grown so used to that she enjoyed it.

"Well, I got some plasma burns on my arms, so why don't we head to the infirmary together," he said.

"That would be acceptable," said T'Pol.

**Earth Colony Terra Nova. **

The Andorian starship the _Kumari_ orbited Terra Nova, as did the _Challenger_ and the _Discovery_. The planet blow them was visibly scarred from an attack leaving the colonist dead. AG stood in front of the view screen and stared at the planet.

"Captain, Commander Shran and Captain Hernandez are hailing us," said his comm officer.

"Put them both on the screen," he said.

The view screen changed from an image of the Terra Nova to a split screen of Shran and Eric Hernandez. Erica's face was as grim as AG's.

"My condolences pink skin. Whoever is attacking our colonies and outposts are attacking yours," said Shran.

"Damn cowards don't stick around, do they?" growled AG.

"No," agreed Shran.

"I'm sending a landing party down to collect evidence and bodies," said Hernandez.

"Good idea, Erica," said AG. "Should I send a party down, too, to assist you?"

"We could use the help," replied Hernandez. "Hernandez out."

The split screen turned into a single one screen with just Shran.

"I'll continue to patrol this area until you are done," said Shran. "I'd hate to have some bastard attack you when you weren't looking."

"Thanks for the help, Shran," said AG. "If you need assistance just let me know. I'll come running."

"Help from a pink skin," smiled Shran, "I don't think so."

The view screen returned to an image of Terra Nova, as the _Kumari_ moved away at impulse speed. AG shook his head. So far they had lost three cargo ships and now a colony. Of course, Starfleet's relationship with the Andorians had been improved because they were suffering from the same attacks. It was frustrating.

"XO, send two landing parties down in our shuttles. Make sure medics with plenty of body bags are included," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," said his XO.

AG returned to his command chair and sat down. His stomach was upset. It got like that when something was bothering him and something was definitely bothering him. Like Klingons the weapon fire was disruptors, but the warp signatures they found were different from the Klingons. They were dealing with someone new and this new player was serious. War was on the horizon and he hoped that Starfleet was ready for it.

**New Xindus, Council Chambers**

Captain Archer along with several of the officers commanding other Starfleet starships stood in front of the newly formed sans Reptilians and Insectoids council. The civil war was over, though skirmishes between Xindi starships and the Reptilians and Insectoids. The first new council meeting was called to thank Earth and those who fought with them.

"Captain Archer, we are honored to have you in front of this newly formed council. I doubt we'd be here today without your assistance," said Jannar.

"As new allies it is my pleasure and honor to speak on behalf of Starfleet and Unite Earth Government. I congratulate you and your people and offer friendship and peace from Earth," Archer stated.

"We are looking forward to receiving emissaries from Earth to discuss trade and other ventures, Captain. It cannot be stated enough that we would not have prevailed without you and those who fought with you," said Degra.

"The emissaries are en route to New Xindus as we speak, Councilman Degra. Earth is excited by this new alliance. I heard that Starfleet would like to build a Starbase in Xindi space," said Archer.

"Captain Archer, we owe you much," said Jannar.

The council exploded in loud applause. Jonathan Archer attempted a smile, yet in the back of his mind was the fact that he had lost two Daedalus Class ships and three frigates along with their crews, as well as hundreds of more injured under his command. Yes, his time leading this strike force was considered a success, but it didn't feel like a success. He knew battle from his time chasing Orion pirates and Nausicaans, but he didn't know what it was to fight a war until now. The cost was great.

**Starfleet Academy **

Trip wore the new casual dress uniform. They were a black tunic jacket with rank pips, sleeve insignia, Starfleet badge, medals, and duty patch on arm, and black boots. The rumor was that the admiralty didn't like wearing the new duty uniforms with just the pullover shirts. They wanted jackets in order to hide what time behind a desk did to you. T'Pol showed up in traditional Vulcan robes, while Lizzy wore a summery dress. What shocked Trip was that his Uncle Francis and his wife Irene allowed their teenage daughter to wear a _Starfleet brings war to alien races_ t shirt.

Trip walked over to T'Pol before joining his family. She was waiting patiently watching families enter the graduation area.

"T'Pol, you look lovely," Trip said.

T'Pol had to admit that it was agreeable when Captain Tucker complimented him.

"I believed a traditional robe would be appropriate for the setting," she stated.

"Well, you make traditional robes look good," he smiled.

She raised her right eyebrow, which made his smile grow. Lizzy came running over to them. She gave Trip a big hug.

"Hey, handsome, you look dashing in your uniform," she said then she noticed his medals. "I never knew you had some many of them."

"I've seen some skirmishes in my time, plus some of them are for engineering," he grinned.

"T'Pol, you look lovely," she said.

T'Pol nodded. Trio was amazed at how easily Lizzy got along with T'Pol.

"Did Frank and Irene really let their brat wear an anti-Starfleet shirt to graduation?" Trip asked Lizzy.

"Jeannie is a rebel, Trip. You were one once upon time," she said.

"I was not," he replied.

"In eighth grade you built a mini-starship that destroyed have the schoolroom," said Lizzy.

"Okay, I might have underestimated the yield of the baby torpedoes that I designed for them," he chuckled.

"Baby torpedoes?" T'Pol spoke up.

"Yeah, he fired that at the windows and blew the windows out then let his starship flew away," said Lizzy. "The school was going to kick him out, but the local exclusive private school offered Trip a scholarship. He graduated from high school early and was accepted early to Starfleet Academy."

"Stop bragging on me, sis," said Trip blushing. "Let's join the proud parents."

The three walked over to the proud parents and sibling. Trip shook his uncle's hand and kissed his aunt's cheek then he looked at his cousin.

"Nice tee shirt," he smirked. "Don't cause any trouble or I'll have you thrown in the nearest brig."

"You can't do that, Trip," she said defiantly.

"Around here I'm known as Captain Tucker," he said in his best authoritative voice.

Francis Tucker laughed.

"We should get our seats," said Irene.

"I agree," added Trip.

The crowd filled out the exercise grounds turned graduation area. The two hundred and fifty midshipmen were dressed in white. Besides Admiral Forest, Senator Helena Karras was the guest speaker. With an upswing of music the graduation ceremony began.

**Vulcan **

Malcolm sat with his back against the wall and listened as Salan informed the terrorist cell the message from Romulus. From the mind meld Salan knew that their orders were to kill Syrran and planet a bomb at the Earth compound. The gathered Romulans listened with glee.

"I think we can afford a night of celebration," said S'anra. "Upstairs we are meat, fish, and plenty of Romulan ale."

"Sounds like a nice change of pace over our usual diet," said Salan.

The group of eight Romulans started to leave, but S'anra called to Malcolm.

"Livak, can I speak to you?" asked S'anra.

"Of course," said Malcolm.

Malcolm started to walk towards S'anra, but Salan grabbed his arm. He whispered to him.

"She wants you to have sex with her," said Salan. "For her sex is a test. She likes you and wants to see if you are weak. I recommend rough sex and you be dominate."

"You got to be bloody kidding me," said Malcolm.

"The price of undercover," said Salan.

Salan left him and shut the door behind him. S'anra was smiling at Malcolm.

"Months in a freighter pretending to be a Vulcan must have been difficult," said S'anra.

"Let's not waste time with talk," said Malcolm. "Take off your clothes."

Malcolm's tone was one of command and he noticed that S'anra blushed bronze. She began to slip off her robe. Malcolm started taking his own robes off. His mind was racing. The thought of having sex with this Romulan female wasn't high on his priority list. That was true until he saw her nude. She had an inviting body. He dropped his robe.

S'anra looked him up and down and smiled. Malcolm became erect staring at her.

"I like what I see," said S'anra.

"Good," he smirked. "Now turn around and bend over."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

**GNN News Studio**

Dressed in the casual dress uniform with his new rank, Rear Admiral Jonathan Archer pulled at his tunic jacket as he prepared to sit down for an interview. Now that he had returned from Xindi space and promoted, Starfleet and the EU had sent him out to sell their interference in the Xindi Civil War. The reporter was Janet Bass, known as one of the more popular news anchors in the media. The attractive woman had skin the color of milk chocolate and a disarming smile. Archer listened as she listed his achievements, some of his more important medals, and his current promotion to rear admiral and put in charge of the newly formed First Fleet, which consisted of 200 starships. The introduction ended and walked over and sat down across from Ms. Bass.

"Admiral Archer, It's a pleasure to meet you," she smiled.

"The pleasure is mine, Ms. Bass," Archer replied.

The questions began. At first they seemed informative like questions about his father, but then their tone started to change. She asked him how it felt to lose Human lives defending an alien race.

"We are not alone in this universe, Ms. Bass," Archer stated. "The more allies we have, the more alien races we are friendly with, the better our chances of surviving. Not all alien races are peaceful like those Xindi with become allies with. Many are aggressive and empire builders like the Klingons and a new race we heard about called the Cardassian. I'd rather fight for a friend knowing that they will stand with me when I need their help then stand alone when I need help."

"Are you saying that Earth is in danger from certain alien races?" she asked.

"I believe Earth should be prepared," he answered.

"And is preparation or conquering the purpose of the newly developed First Fleet, which you command?" she asked.

Archer put a bright insincere smile on his face and answered, "Starfleet's motto was Semper Exploro. It has been modified to Semper Exploro et Contego. Starfleet's mission is exploration, but we have added to protect or defend to it."

"And what are you, Admiral Archer, an explorer or a warrior?" she asked.

"I am what Earth needs me to be," he answered.

**Starfleet San Diego Complex**

Trip had changed out of his casual dress uniform and into his gold shirt duty uniform. A shuttle was waiting to take him and T'Pol up to the _Atlantis_, which was now in a state of construction that allowed him to move his office to his ship. Also, being refitted into a Flag Ship for Rear Admiral Archer was the _Enterprise_ at the Mars Orbital Spacedock. Newly promoted Captain Stiles would be the captain, but the _Enterprise_ would still be Archer's ship, his flag ship. Someone buzzed Trip's door as he packed up his PADDS into his briefcase.

"Enter," he called out Trip.

T'Pol entered his office. She was wearing a blue duty ship with commander pips and sleeve insignia. Trip had convinced Soval to have her seconded from Vulcan High Command to Starfleet on a long term temporary basis. Soval was able to manage this by convincing the High Command that she would be able to report to him important information about Starfleet's newest ships and intelligence. When she confronted Soval that he lied, his reaction was to tell her that it was an optimistic assessment of her new situation.

Admiral Forest approved of her rank and duty as Trip's 2 IC during the building of _Atlantis_. When the _Atlantis_ launched she would become his science officer and not his XO, though. The thought was that a Starfleet starship wasn't ready for that high a ranking alien presence. She would be his second officer after the XO, which would give her not only a high profile presence but responsibilities.

"Captain, the shuttle leaves for the orbital spacedock in twenty minutes," she stated.

Trip stopped packing his briefcase and looked at T'Pol. He smiled at her. She had grown used to his displays of emotion, even to the point that she grown somewhat fond of them. It wasn't logical but his smile made her feel optimistic.

"T'Pol, don't worry. We'll get there with time to spare. Don't be such a worry wart," he said.

"Worry wart?" she repeated with both eyebrows lifted.

"Unnecessarily nervous," he sighed.

He turned and faced T'Pol. She stared at the half zipper which was unzipped. Trip smiled and zipped it up.

"Let's go, commander," he said. "We have to start building a crew."

"I believe you should start with your executive officer," she said, as they headed out of his office.

"Nay, I've started with a science officer and my second officer. Next up is chief engineer then XO," he said.

"Do you know who you want as your chief engineer?" asked T'Pol.

"Yup," he smiled but didn't say anything else.

Much to Trip's amusement he got T'Pol's slightly annoyed eyebrow.

"Pick up the pace, commander, we have a shuttle to catch," chuckled Trip, as he picked up his pace.

"Vulcan has heavier gravity than Earth, Captain," T'Pol said. "In a foot race I would be faster than you."

"Prove it," he said then he started jogging towards the turbolift.

When he got to the turbolift, he entered then pressed the close doors button and waved goodbye to a Vulcan with a knotted brow, which he knew meant she was angry, even though Vulcans didn't get angry. With her sharp ears, T'Pol could hear Trip laughing as the turbolift zipped away.

"Most illogical," she said to herself.

**The Challenger**

AG sat in his ready room reading the reports. Two more cargo ships had been destroyed. The EU, Starfleet, and ECS were now in negotiations to have Starfleet starship accompany cargo ships until the shipping lanes were considered safe again. The problem was a matter of cost and manpower. It was both costly and inefficient to have one starship accompany one cargo ship. The alternative was one to two starships accompany three to four cargo ships. Unfortunately, the ECS was against combining several cargo ships and several starships. It cut into their profit margin, which was tight to begin with.

AG turned off his computer and shook his head. There were those at Starfleet Command who still thought that the Orion were behind the attacks including the Terra Nova. Some believed the disruptors were proof it was the Klingons, but AG agreed with Shran. There was a new player involved out there and they needed to know who it was. He just needed some sort of proof.

Pressing the comm button on his desk, he connected with the comm officer.

"Comm, I want to talk to Commander Shran. Send out hails to the_ Kumari_, please," he said.

"_Aye, aye, sir_," said the comm officer.

**Orbital Spacedock**

The shuttle took a slow turn around the _Enterprise_. The refit was going well. Trip smiled as he wondered if Rear Admiral Archer was onboard himself overseeing the refit. The shuttle pilot looped past the Enterprise and towards the nearing completion _Atlantis_.

His ship was bigger than the _Enterprise_. On the bottom of the saucer section were two rotating rail guns. His ship also had thirty-five phaser banks and twenty-five torpedo tubes. Yes, there would be stellar cartography, science and medical labs, and other departments better suited for exploration than war, but there was no doubt that the _Atlantis_ was a ship of the line, a battleship. Between its polarized hull and new defensive shields, his ship could stand up to a pounding and deliver one also.

Trip sighed at this thought. He joined Starfleet because of warp engines and exploring. The fact there would be dangers out there he accepted, but he never thought he take part in building a warship. But he had. Hell, he not only took part in it but he was the commander of the damned ship.

"A Dr. Phlox has requested to be the _Atlantis_ CMO," T'Pol interrupted Trip's thoughts.

"Phlox," smiled Trip, "I definitely approve. He was Jon's CMO on the _Ares_. He was recalled to Denobula because of an argument with Earth. I guess Denobula and Earth are allies again."

"Denobula has agreed to an embassy on Earth. They are working on several treaties," said T'Pol.

"I'm glad to have Phlox onboard. He used to say that he never saw a patient so often as me," smiled Trip.

T'Pol looked at him with a dollop of concern. Trip shrugged his shoulders. T'Pol made notation on the PADD then said, "Dr. Phlox has been approved."

"Maybe I should make you my XO temporarily until I find the right fit. You have a gift for the position and we work well together," smiled Trip.

"I do not believe that Admiral Forest would approve," said T'Pol.

"Let me deal with him," said Trip. "Until further notice you are my XO and Science Officer."

"Until you have a replacement," said T'Pol. "One of my first tasks will be to get you a petty office to act as your aide."

"I don't need an aide," Trip complained.

"With a crew nearing 500 hundred you will need an aide," said T'Pol.

"Make sure that the petty officer is female and pretty," grinned Trip.

He could tell by the look in her eye that his comment annoyed her. His grin increased in intensity.

"I do not see how pretty will make them a good aide," said T'Pol.

"It couldn't hurt," chuckled Trip.

He heard the frustrated exhale. For reasons he didn't bother to contemplate, he loved to get under T'Pol's skin. The again if someone told him months ago that he'd enjoy spending time with a Vulcan, he'd have them sent to a councilor for evaluation.

"Sir," the pilot called from the front of the shuttle.

"Yes, Ensign," said Trip.

"We'll be docking in three minutes."

"Thank you, Ensign," Trip said.

He looked out the window. In a few hours he'd be in coveralls and working in engineering, even though he should be working on filling out his crew. He looked forward to getting dirty.

**Vulcan. **

Salan stood of the dead body of one of the Romulan cell members, who he had killed by snapping their neck, while Malcolm with phaser in hand stood near two unconscious members. They were supposed to take part in the bombing of the Earth compound, while S'anra and Khoal led men in the Forge to kill Syrran and the Syrranites. Salan couldn't allow Syrran and his group to be killed. He didn't explain Sryrran's importance to Malcolm.

Salan took out a communicator and opened a channel, "Salan, 3389758385293985."

"_Salan, this is Avum. Status_?"

"We had to act before we anticipated," said Salan. "One cell member dead and two unconscious. We need a cleanup."

"_One being sent_," said Avum.

"Agent Reed and I will be pursuing part of the cell into the Forge. They are searching for Syrran and his followers in order to eliminate them. This cannot be allowed, said Salan.

"_Can the Human handle the Forge_?"

"Yes. I have Triox shots for him, plus his training has been extensive," said Salan. "The Earth compound needs to be swept for a bomb."

"_We will take care of the Human compound. Preserve the life of Syrran_," said Avum. "_Contact when you need assistance_."

Salan closed his communicator and looked at Malcolm.

"We must back two bags and put on desert gear. We don't have much time," said Salan.

"I've heard bad things about the Forge."

"We may be in the Forge for weeks, if not months finding Syrran and his followers," said Salan.

"Sounds like fun," smirked Malcolm.

Salan looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

**Atlantis**

Trip was going on his fifteenth hour crawling through the access hatches and Jefferies tubes of his ship. Anna Hess knew her captain was nearby when she'd hear a string of expletives. Trip dropped out of a Jefferies tube.

"Goddamn, incompetent, son of bitches used second rate sealers," he cursed.

Anna, who was almost asleep on her feet, looked at him. He tossed one of the sealers to her and she caught it.

"They have to be replaced with the higher quality sealers or the damned thing will wear out too quickly," he told her.

"I'll get a team started on that, sir," she said then fought back a yawn.

Trio checked the chronometer in engineering. His body was sore a tired but he was too wired to sleep. They were finally coming down the homestretch and he wanted this ship of space dock and breaking speed records.

"Captain," came the familiar of T'Pol.

He turned to see her in the doorway of Engineering staring at him. With a glimpse he could tell she was upset. She was standing stiffly, hands behind the back, slightly raised left eyebrow, and those perfect lips pursed. Trip started to feel aroused, as he stared at his XO. Not going to happen, Tucker, he said to himself then took a deep breath and refocused.

As for T'Pol, she stared at a sweaty, dirty Human and felt a need to meditate in order to suppress her emotions. She couldn't deny that she was attracted to Captain Tucker.

"Yes, Commander," he said.

"Your quarters are prepared. I suggest that you use them. You have not slept enough," she said.

"I don't think that any of your business," he countered.

"Since you made me your XO it is my so-called business," she said. "I suggest you shower and get a minimum of six hours of sleep. It will increase your efficiency."

Trip sighed. He wanted to argue with her but she was correct. Sleep would not only improve his mood, it would his decision making because he wanted to take his XO in his arms right now and kiss her.

"Okay, I'll go to my quarters," said Trip.

"I will alert space dock security that you will be sleeping onboard," said T'Pol. "I shall stay onboard, also."

Trio rolled his tongue in his cheeks, but kept his mouth shut. He told Forest that she would make a great XO and he meant it. The fact that Soval had agreed easily with her taking the position and that Forest even told him that Soval was willing to encourage her to resign her High Command commission and join Starfleet permanently. Something was going on there, but he was too tired to think about it. Maybe he'd ask Jon what was going on between the Admiral Forest and the Vulcans.

**The Forge, Vulcan **

It was midnight and hot. Actually, Malcolm had decided that the Vulcans had misnamed this piece of desert. Instead of the Forge it should be called hell. The damn place was hot. Salan stopped and listened to the air for a moment.

"There are shelats hunting us," said Salan.

He pointed to an outcropping of rocks. There looked to be a cave there.

"We can finish night there and rest for now. We'll stay there until sunset tomorrow," Salan said.

"I coold use the rest," said Malcolm.

"When we hget to the cave, I'll give you a triox shot," said Salan.

"Bloody lovely," sighed Malcolm.

"Soon we will eat and drink some water. Some of these caves are known to have water deposits," said Salan, as he brought his hand to the knife in his belt.

"Why the knife?" Malcolm asked.

"With the electrical storms and other problems of the Forge, scanners, communicators, phasers, and most other technology doesn't work here," said Salan.

"How will you get in touch with your friends in the V'Shar?" asked Malcolm.

"We will have to leave the Forge," said Salan. "Now let us hurry. I can hear the shelats getting closer," said Salan.

Picking up their paces both men headed for the outcropping of rocks and a cave they could safely stay in.

**The Challenger**

AG looked at the view screen. A Tellerite starship was attacking the Kumari, Shran's ship. According to all the data he had Shran had the superior ship yet the Tellerite ship was kicking his butt.

"Commo," AG spoke using the nickname he developed for his comm officer, "hail Shran and tell him we are here to help."

"Aye, aye, sir," said the comm officer.

"XO," he called, "give me battle stations."

"Battle stations," called out the XO, as she switched on the battle stations klaxon at her monitoring station."

"Helm, take us in hot and fast," said AG.

"Aye, aye, sir," said the helmsman.

"Tac, weapons hot and target both phasers and torpedoes on the Tellerite ship," said AG. "Alternate phaser blast then torp."

"Aye, aye, sir," said the tactical officer.

"Sir, Commander Shran welcomes your help," said Commo.

"Commo, hail the Tellerite ship," ordered AG.

"They are not responding," said Commo.

AG watched as the Andorian ship was rocked. AG had never seen phaser fire like the one coming from the Tellerite ship.

"Science, what kind of weapon is that?" asked AG.

The science officer ran scans. She shook her head then looked at AG.

"Triphasic disruptors, sir," she said.

"Triphasic disruptors," he said to himself. It definitely was the Klingons, who used disruptor fire. It was too sophisticated for them. "Tac, open fire."

"Aye, aye, sir," said the tactical officer.

"Helm, tactical pattern, Delta Zulu," he ordered.

"Aye, aye, sir," said the helmsman.

Captain, Commander Shran suggests that we hit and run in tandem," said the comm officer.

"Tell Shran I agree," said AG.

"Aye, sir," said the comm officer.

"Science, keep ongoing scans of that damned ship," barked AG.

His ship rocked with incoming fire. The triphasic disruptors were hitting his defensive shields hard. He looked down at his own monitor screen and saw that shields were already down to 49%.

"Aye, aye, sir."

A combination of Shran's ship weapons and Challenger's weapons caused the Tellerite ship to shimmer and morph its image into something completely different. It was an odd looking ship with what appeared to be long antennae or emitters. A torpedo hit it breaking through its shields. Immedaitely hull damage appeared, but the ship seemed to be repairing itself. Before any more weapons fire could hit the ship, it went into emergency warp and disappeared.

"Science, did you scan that thing?" AG asked.

"Yes, Captain," said the science officer.

"Start a detailed analysis. Use whoever you need to use," he ordered.

"Aye, aye, sir," said the science officer.

"Commo," AG barked, "get me Starfleet Command."


	9. Chapter 9

**Starfleet Command, Situation Room**

Admiral Shin, Admiral Forest, Rear Admiral Leonard, Rear Admiral Archer, Captain Tucker, Captain Nagura, Ramirez, Captain Hunter, and Captain Kahn along with three anylysts viewed the scans and images taken by the Challenger. Trip couldn't believe what he read. The ship was a large unmanned drone with all of its power going to offensive weapons and defensive shielding. The emitters on the outside of the ship allowed it to appear to change shape. It was a technical marvel.

"There appears to be a signal the drone is picking up," said Admiral Shin.

"It's the control signal," Trip mused to himself then noticed everyone staring at him. "I think the signal is what is controlling the ship, ma'am."

No one argued with him. He was Trip Tucker, brilliant engineer. His reputation was set the day he proved the warp three engine could work when he was nothing more then a lieutenant.

"It is not your usual signal, sir. It's is far more complex, amost like a brainwave," said an analyst.

"So, this is what has been causing all the problems. Cargo ships and colonies destroyed by a drone or drones," said Forest.

"I wish we had a better relationship with the Vulcans. I don't trust them but they are a race full of geniues," said Leonard.

"We have a Vulcan we trust," smiled Forest. "Captain Tucker's temporary XO is a Vulcan who has been seconded to Starfleet from High Command."

"Is this Vulcan trustworthy?" asked Archer.

"T'Pol is trustworthy. She has even discussed resigning the High Command to join Starfleet," said Trip.

"She?" asked Nagura.

Archer couldn't hide his smirk. Although Trip appeared to be as tempting as honey to alien women, he doubted his old friend was in a relationship with a Vulcan.

"Is there a problem with T'Pol being a female Vulcan?" asked Forest, who hid his own amusement better than most.

"No, sir, no problem," said Nagura.

"I will provide you with copies of the scans to show your Vulcan," said Shin. "I want as much intelligence as we can gather on this drone."

"I'll have her review the scans and submit a report," said Trip.

"Have her submit it directly to my office," said Admiral Forest.

"Yes, sir," replied Trip.

"We have a new enemy out there, Captains, and it appears to be highly dangerous. I want to know who is behind this drone," said Forest.

"We are immediately instituting a new command. EarthCom will protect Sol System. Captain Nagura, you will be promoted to Commodore and be being given twenty border cutters and fifteen frigates in order to protect this system, as well as help setting up orbital defense satellites," said Forest.

"Thank you, sir, I am honored," said Nagura.

"Your cutters are in Proxima. I recommend you recall them and the frigates, which are being used to protect cargo ships, immediately and start setting up your defense grid. Your promotion will be official tomorrow," said Leonard.

"Yes, sir."

"I'll also have T'Pol's report sent to Commodore Nagura," smirked Trip.

"How is the _Atlantis _coming?" asked Forest.

"Ahead of schedule, sir," answered Trip. "Weapons, shilds, and impluse are working. We are fine tuning the warp engine."

"Archer is in charge of the first fleet," stated Forest. "We will be putting together a second fleet, also. It hasn't been decided who will command that fleet."

"Will it also consist of 200 starships?" asked Archer.

"Yes," said Forest.

"A third fleet is in discussion, but for now we are thinking of breaking up the rest of our ships into task forces and those with special assignments, such as guarding shipping lanes and cargo ships, as well as starbases," explained Leonard.

"With this new enemy, we have discussed with EU where to make the first fleet's homebase and right now Alpha Centuari seems to be the consensus," said Forest.

"Close to Klingon and Romulan territory," stated Archer.

"Exactly. Two of the more aggresive races out there," said Shin.

"We need to start making more allies, Admiral," stated Archer.

"So far Andoria, Denobula, Teller, Rigel, and Coridan have requested to exchange embassies. Because of Rear Admiral Archer we can also add the Xindi, who have also agreed to a Starbase," said Forest. "I feel we are at the inception of a new phase of Earth history and you officers will help shape it."

**The Atlantis**

Trip was seated in his spacious ready room reviewing his crew roster. His aide Petty Office 2nd Class Alan Weir he assigned to assist T'Pol, as she had a report to finish about the signal that appeared to control the drone. Trip was glad to give up his aide since he was a male and not female as he requested. So far he was happy with the filling out of his crew. Besides adding a top young helsman out of the academy special program with Ensign Issac Younger, he added another midshipman William Tucker, who would start his career in operations, Chief of the Boat Ray Duggan, Marine Captain James Stark, and tactical officer Lieutenant Dana Ewing. Today Phlox, as well as his medical staff, will be reporting. His ship was coming together.

The chime to his ready room sounded. Trip turned off his computer.

"Enter."

The pnuematic doors opened and Rear Admiral Archer walked into the ready room. Archer's face broke into a grin.

"I thought the new ready room in the _Enterprise_ was luxurious," he chuckled.

"Admiral," smiled Trip.

He stood up and offered his right hand. Archer shook it then motioned Trio to sit down.

"It's a big ship," said Trip.

"Bigger than my flagship," agreed Archer.

"So, why do I have the honor of your comapny, sir?" asked Trip.

"My ship will be ready in the morning and then the first fleet is off to Alpha Centauri and Starbase 5. I wanted to see you before I left," said Archer.

"Well, I honored, Admiral..."

"Jon, Trip, call me Jon. We've been friends too long for you not to call me that," said Archer.

"Jon, do you want a tour?" smiled Trip.

"I'd love one," grinned Archer. "Since it's a big ship, I expect it will end with dinner."

"I'll let chef know that we have a special geust tonight," said Trip.

"If your chef is better than mine, I might have to steal him from you," Archer teased.

"Then I'll tell him to cook his second best meal," chuckled Trip.

**The Forge**

The sun was burning the ground outside of the cave. From the mouth of the cave Malcolm could see a sand fire storm raging. He had dessert training like all other members of Starfleet, even more so since he was also Section 31, but this harsh, unlivable envirnoment was nothing like he had ever prepared for. Salan was deep in the cave along with a small group of Vulcans they found there when they arrived. Vulcans were allof by nature but these Vulcans were downright rude. Sala was attempting to make headway with them. Malcolm walked back into the cave and joined Salan, who was seated with is back against the cave wall.

Once he sat down Malcolm realized why he did sat with his back to the wall. The coldness of the cave wall cooled down his body. Malcolm listened to the conversation between Salan and the leader of the small group.

"You seek enlightenment through a meeting with Syrran?" asked the leader.

"No, I seek to save his life and the life of his followers," said Salan.

"I see," said the leader.

Malcolm listened to the conversation and wanted to sigh, but didn't. He was a proper Vulcan. Or, at least, he damned good at pretending to be one. Yet, this was getting on his last nerve.

"You are Syrranites, are you?" he asked.

The leader of the group looked at Malcolm. He stared at him for several moments before speaking.

"Are you Romulan?" he asked.

Salan and Malcolm looked at each other. It was an interesting guess. Salan nodded to Malcolm giving him permission to speak.

"No, I am a Human who has been surgically altered to look Vulcan," answered Malcolm.

"I see," said the leader then he pondered for a moment. "Why are you here?"

"My name is Malcolm Reed and I am a member of Starfleet Intelligence," said Malcolm, who then nodded to Salan. "This is Salan. He is V'Shar. We are trying to expose Romulan cells on Vulcan before permanent damage can be done. One of these calls is looking to kill Syrran and his followers. They are searching the Forge now for them."

The leader of the small group nodded his head then he stood up.

"I am Syrran," he stated. He looked at his small group of followers and started to introduce them. "That is T'Les. Beside her is T'Pau. To my left are V'Tan and T'avak. I would like to midn meld with you."

Malcolm looked at Syrran and then at Salan, who made the Human gesture of a shrug.

"Will it hurt?" asked Malcolm.

"Only if you resist," answered Syrran. "A mind meld will verify if you speak the turth."

"Okay, let's mind meld," sighed Malcolm.

"Master, he is Human," said T'Pau.

"Surak taught Infinite Diversity Infinite Combination. You must fight agianst homogeny, T'Pau," said Syrran.

"Yes, master," said T'Pau.

"T'Les, you will supervisor the mind meld," said Syrran. "V'Tan and T'avak, keep guard."

Salan closed his eyes. They had found Syrran. Now all they needed to do was find the Romulans searching for Syrran and his followers.

"I ahve never melded with a Human mind," said Syrran. "This should be fascinating."

**The Atlantis**

With Trip at one head of the table and Admiral Archer at the other, the dinner guests settled down in their seats. T'Pol, Dr. Phlox, Lieutenant Commander Hess, and Fleet Master Chief Petty Officer Ray Duggan sat quietly as the steward brought out the shrimp cocktail for everyone except a salad for T'Pol. He also served cabernet sauvignon to everyone except T'Pol, who was served water.

"Shrimp cocktail, not a bad start," grinned Archer. "What's for dinner?"

"Prime rib with baked potato, grilled asparagus, and freshly made dinner rolls, except for Commander T'Pol. Since Vulcan are vegetarians she has a salad and mushroom risotto," answered Trip.

"Okay, and desert?" Archer asked.

"I wanted key lime pie, but chef overruled me and made a German chocolate cake," replied Trip.

"I might have to convince Forest to make the Atlantis my flagship," teased Archer.

"Sorry, Admiral, I've been told that the Atlantis isn't going to be part of either fleet," said Trip. "We will participate in some task forces."

"Trust me, Trip, I wanted you as part of my fleet," said Archer.

The dinner progressed pleasantly enough. T'Pol felt a moment of nauseousness when she saw the bloody thick peice of prime rib. Archer noticed her reaction and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Diplomatic dinenr must be difficult for Vulcans," he remarked.

"Those in the diplomatic corp are trained to deal with offensive behavior," said T'Pol.

"So, my diet is offensive, Commander," stated Trip, trying to hide a smirk.

"The Human can gain the proper nutrients and protein from a non-meat diet as he does from one where another living creature is consumed," she pointed out.

"Maybe so, but it isn't as satisfying," smiled Trip.

T'Pol was going to respond when she momentarily found herself fascinated by Trip's smile. Archer broke the few seconds of silence.

"The tradition of eating well onboard a ship started with the submariners," he told T'Pol. "Because submarine duty was considered more dangerous and more difficult, they offered the crew better food and higher pain. It was adopted by Starfleet once we had starships capable of heading into deeper space."

"Vulcans don't gain pleasure from food, Admiral," commented Trip.

"That is not necessarily true that we don't pain pleasure from food. We believe the consumption of food should be treated as necessaity and nothing more," she said.

"Food is so much more than a necessity," said Archer. "It is a pleasure."

"Hess, if I recall correctly, you have an emotional attachment to chocolate," Trip teased his chief engineer.

"It's one of my great loves," she smiled.

"The chocolate cake doesn't have meat, Commander, you should try it," said Archer.

"I shall consider it," nodded T'Pol.

**Sol System **

The three drones looked like and ECS Cargo ships moving slowly into the solar system. They were piloted and controlled by three highly telepathic Remans in a cloaked Bird of Prey. This was going to be Romulus first strike at Earth. The first target was Jupiter Station then Mars Shipyards and finally Earth itself. The three cargo ships started to veer away from each other as each had a different target.

Starbase One attempted to contact the cargo ships in order to verify their origin and destination, since their transponders were off. When no response came from the ships, Starbase One went to DefCon 4.

Trip was alseep in his quarters. With a bigger ship and his being the captain, he could afford a big comfortable bed. After years of uncomfortable bunks, he found that he now slept soundly for three to four hours a night. The tactical alert klaxon went off.

Trio shot out of bed and ran to his desk and pressed the comm button.

"This is the captain, what the hell is going on?" he barked.

"_System wide DefCon 4 has gone out, sir_," came the answer.

"Get the alpha bridge crew out of the bed. I'm on my way," he ordered.

Trip went over to his closet and grabbed his duty uniform and dressed then ran out of his quarters and towards the nearest turbolift. Bursting onto the bridge, Trip wasn't surprised to his T'Pol, COB Duggan, Ensign Younger, and Lieutenant Ewing at their posts.

"T'Pol, report," he ordered.

"Their unidentified cargo ships have entered sol system," she said.

"Mister Younger, break moorings and take us out of spacedock," Trip told him.

"Aye, Aye, sir," said Younger.

"You sent in your report on the signal being telepathic brainwaves, right?" asked Trip

"Yes, Captain."

"Scan for those brainwaves," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," said T'Pol.

"Miss Ewing, shields up and weapons up," he ordered.

"Aye, aye, sir," said Ewing.

"COB, take the XO monitor station and monitor ship functions," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," said Duggan.

Pressing the comm button Trip connected with engineering.

"_Hess_."

"Hess, I'll need full weapons, shields, and impulse," he said.

"_You'll have them, including the rail gun_," she replied.

"Send Rostov up to man engineering station," he told her.

"_Yes, sir_."

Trip sat back in his command chair.

"Mister Younger, best speed to nearest cargo ship," he said.

"Aye, aye, sir," said Younger.

"Captain, each cargo ship is receiving a signal which is a telepathic brainwave," T'Pol said.

Trip looked over at his empty communication station. His communication team was supposed to arrive today.

"T'Pol let Starfleet Command know that we are more than likely dealing with drones because of those signals," he said.

As they approached the cargo ship nearest them, a frigate attacked it. The ship morphed from an ECS cargo ship to the shape of the drone the _Challenger_ had scanned. The drone opened fire on frigate.

"Sir, Jupiter Station is under attack according to communications," said Duggan.

"We have to stop one at a time," Trip said. "Ewing, target with phasers and torpedoes and open fire."

"Aye, aye, sir."

The frigate was destroyed. An Intrepid Class and Daedalus Class attacked the drone. With the weapons fire from the _Atlantis_ the drone started to take heavy damage. The drone opened fire nonstop on all ships, while firing two missiles headed for Mars shipyards.

"Captain, the missiles are carrying a nuclear payload," T'Pol stated.

"Let all ships know," he ordered. "Let them know that these bastards have nukes."

"Yes, sir," said Duggan.

"Ewing, prep rail guns then tell me when you have the drone targeted," said Trip.

Ewing's hands danced over her controls. She worked to ready the rail gun and target the drone.

"Ready, sir," said Ewing.

"Younger, get me closer," ordered Trip.

"Yes, sir."

Trip waited to give his order until his ship was close enough that the rail gun would do maximum damage. He waited as his ship rocked from incoming.

"Shields down to 42 percent," announced T'Pol.

"Damage to deck 12 and desk 8," announced Rostov.

"Get DC teams in action," ordered Trip then he turned and looked at Ewing. "Fire!"

The rail guns tore into the already damaged drone. The rail guns were reaching the end of its charge, but the drone was now suffering from external and internal explosions.

"The drone is destroyed," said T'Pol.

"What about the missiles?" asked Trip.

"The frigate the _Bull Run _stopped one missile by ramming it. All hands lost," said Duggan. "The cruiser the _Mjolnir_ exploded it with a torpedo. Three ships are headed to assist the _Mjolnir_."

"The Jupiter Station drone is destroyed. Jupiter Station took severe damage," T'Pol stated. "The last drone got three missiles off before being destroyed. All three are targeted on Earth."

"Helm, plot course to intercept closest missile. Best speed," ordered Trip.

"Aye, aye, sir," said Younger.

Trip pressed the comm button and Hess answered.

"_Yes, Captain_," she said.

"We are tracking down a nuke, Anna. Batten down the hatches," he told her.

"_First day out of dock and we've already scratched the paint_," she said then ended the connection.

"Sir, I've got the missile in my sights," said Ewing.

"Target with phaser on full dispersal beam," said Trip.

"Aye, sir."

"COB, let everyone know to hold on for a bumpy ride," Trip told him.

Duggan smiled and then sent out a shipwide alert. The phasers fired. On their second volley the nuke was hit and exploded. The Atlantis was caught up in the shockwave. The shields overloaded and systems started to overload. Trip was knocked out of his command chair hitting his head as face planted on the deck. Getting up he saw the science station explode from a power overload. T'Pol was thrown out of her chair.

Amid the chaos of the aftermath of the explosion, he rushed over to her. The emergency klaxon rang and the emergency red lights went on. Trip saw green blood, a reminder that she was alien, bleeding from cuts on her forehead and cheek. He cradled her in his arms. Slowly, she opened her eyes and he smiled at her. Instinctively, she reached up with her right hand and touched his PSI nodes on his face making a connection with him.

For what felt like s short eternity everything disappeared. It was just T'Pol and him. The bridge faded, the sounds stopped, and the problems were gone. It was just him and her. She then passed out and Trip returned to the now and the problems of the now.

He looked over at Duggan, who was still standing.

"COB, let the infirmary now we have medical emergencies on the bridge," he said.

"Yes, sir."

He gently laid her down and stood up to check his bridge. It looked like they scratched more than the paint, as several electrical fires burned. Rostov grabbed some fire suppression gear and started to put the fires out. He saw that Younger was injured and Ewing looked as if she was in a state of shock.

"COB, send out a distress signal," he said.

"Yes, sir," said Duggan.

Suddenly, the room blurred and darkened then Trip collapsed to the floor.


	10. Chapter 10

**Starfleet Medical**

Trip woke up in the corridor of Starfleet Medical on a gurney. His head ached, so he reached up and found a bandage on his forehead. Get up, Tucker, he said to himself and then he slowly sat up on the gurney.

Once in a seated position, he saw the chaos surrounding him. Men and women on gurneys being pushed by medics and med techs whizzed by him. He wasn't sure how many ships were damaged by the drones and nukes, but he knew that at least six ships took serious hits. Hunderds of casualities must have been shuttled down to Starleet Medical. He didn't even want to think of the number if KIA.

"Trip, are you alright?" he heard a familair voice.

Trip turned his head to see Rear Admiral Archer and Trip sat uo striaghter.

"Just got a headache, sir," said Trip.

Archer walked over to him and leaned on the gurney beside him.

"You saved alot of lives up there," he said. "Well done, Trip."

"Just doing my duty, sir," Trip replied.

"Well, it was duty well done. Admiral Forest and Rodenberry are talking about putting you up for a medal of honor," said Archer. "Think you can walk with me?"

Gingerly, Trip got up. He tested his legs then gave Archer a big smile.

**"**I can handle a walkabout," Trip grinned.

He took up position to Archer's right, when I doctor shouted for trip to stop.

"Captain Tucker," the doctor ran up to the small cadre.

"Hey, Doc, I have a slight headache, but I'm fine," said Trip.

The doctor used his medical scanner on him. He shook his head in annoyance.

"You have activity in the area of the brain where telepathy originates. It's an active PSI area and your PSI rating is zero," said the Doctor.

"Is that a problem?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," said the doctor. "I need to take some more tests."

"Is it life threatening?" asked Trip.

"No," the doctor answered as he stared at his scans.

"Can these tests wait, doctor?" asked Archer in his most authoriative tone.

"Um... Admiral, I'd feel better," started the doctor.

**"**Doctor, Jupiter Station is in disarray with hundreds dead and even more injured. Mars shipyard has damage and nukes hit Bozeman, Montannaand Hong Kong, China. I need Captain Tucker here," growled Archer.

"The tests can wait, sir," said the doctor.

"Good," said Archer.

The doctor started to leave, but Trip stopped him.

"Commander T'Pol, my Vulcan XO, where can I find her?" he asked.

The doctor checked his PADD then said, "She was transfered to the Vulcan Compound where Vulcan healers are located."

"Thank you, doc," said Trip.

He and Archer headed down the hallway.

"That much damage was done," mumbled Trip.

"Hong Kong there are four million dead," sighed Archer. "In Bozeman the Cochrane R&D facility is almost completely destroyed. The underground facility is intact, but difficult to get to. I'm supposed to get the first fleet to Alpha Centauri and patroling. Both UE and Starfleet want to know who to retailitate against. I'm supposed to help find out. I was here checking on some of the _Enterprise_ crew. When I saw you on the gurney, I thought I'd get you released so you can get back to you ship. We need to get prepared for war, Trip."

"I should check on my crew before I leave here," said Trip.

"I'd recommend it," sighed Archer.

**The Challenger**

_UES Challegner _had been recalled to Earth. According to scuttlebutt with this attack, the second fleet was being rushed to be out togehter. Vice Admiral Ethan Paris was beign given the command and his flagship was going to be the _Endeavor_. He felt bad for Nassan. Captain Kahn was an excellent commander but there was nothign worse than having an admiral onboard because it was their flagship. In the end the admiral was in charge.

Sitting in his command chair staring at the starflied on the view screen, AG smiled. First fleet was now commanded by Rear Admiral Archer with the _Enterprise_ as its flagship. EarthCom was commanded by Commodore Nagura with the _Constellation_ as its flagship. Finally, the second fleet was being commanded by the old battle axe Vice Admiral Paris with the _Endeavor_ as his flagship.

Another rumor he heard from Erica was that the rest of the NX ships would head up task forces. He liked the idea of that rather than having to serve under Jon, Kaori, or Paris. The task forces were goign to be mobile and given specific missions. That sounded more to his strength than being part of a large fleet. AG liked being a bit of a cowboy.

"Captain," his XO interruted his thoughts.

"Yes, XO."

"I'd like to discuss some crew rotation before we reach Earth," said his XO. "I have a dozen requests to transfer from the _Challenger_."

"Why?"

"The attack on Earth has affected many of the crew. They want to stay closer to Earth."

"Family issues," sighd AG.

"Mainly."

"Get together with the COB and go over the list before you present it to me. I don't want to lose anyone who either too highly skilled or integral to the functioning to this ship unless we can get someone better," stated AG.

"Yes, sir. I'll go talk to the COB."

AG nodded and his XO exited the bridge. They were on the verge of war, so he was going to lose someone of importance unless he got somone better. Starfleet was known primarily for exoloration but those days would be suspended for now. With war Starfleet was a military organization and it was going to have to be a good one.

**The Forge, Vulcan**

T'Karath Sanctuary looked like a ruin out of ancient Rome or Greece to Malcolm. Syrran guided them to this ancient place. According to Syrran somewhere in the ruins was the Kir'Shara, the true testament and words of Surak. The thought of spending months excavating ruins didn't appeal to Malcolm. Of course, according to T'Pau and T'Les Syrran was a katra arch for Syrran, so he knew where to find the Kir'Shara.

They set up camp inside the T'Karath Sanctuary. Syrran rested with his back against a marble wall in order to cool down, while T'Pau, T'Les, V'Tan, and T'avak began to prepare a meal, as well as set up a perimeter. Salan and Malcolm were left alone.

"What will this Kir'Shara do if we find it?" asked Malcolm.

"Change Vulcan society if it is a true relic of Surak that proves the High Command has been purporting a corrupt version of Surak," said Salan. "We must help them find find, protect them once they find, and make sure that it ends up in proper hands, so that Vulcan society can change."

"Will a change benefit Earth?" asked Malcolm.

"I believe it will benefit Earth. You will have helped us during our time of change. Earth, I believe, will protect Vulcan from the Romulan Star Empire, which will strengthen our alliance and bond," said Salan.

"You assume a lot about Earth," said Malcolm.

"I have studied Humantiy. I admire it, even perfer some aspects of your soceity. I believe you will do the right thing," said Salan.

"That's it, Salan, butter us up and expect us to die for you without even a good snog," sighed Malcolm.

Salan lips curled slightly in a grin. Malcolm raised in his left eyebrow and stared at him looking more Vulcan than Vulcan.

"Should I be worried about you, mate?" he asked Salan.

"I was just wondering if Section 31 might have an openign for me when this is done," said Salan.

"You liek Section 31?" asked Malcolm.

"I admire their efficiency," replied Salan.

**Vulcan Compound, Sausalito, CA**.

Dressed in his black casual dress uniform, Trip arrived at the Vulcan Compound to be held up a security. With the attack of unknown aliens anti-alien groups were on the rise, as was Vulcan security. Trip waited patiently was he was approved to visit T'Pol.

It was a beautiful day. Seagulls flew above his head. With his hands behind his back and his tongue rolling along in his right cheek, Trip watched the cumulus clouds float above his head and even felt a slight chill from the San Francisco Bay. He knew nothing about T'Pol's condition other than she was still in the hospital.

"Captain Tucker," he heard a voice.

Trip turned to face the voice. To his surpirse it was Ambassador Soval.

"Ambassador," he greeted him.

"You have come to visit T'Pol," said Soval.

"Yes, sir."

"I will escort you to her room," said Soval. "We may talk on the way."

"Is there a problem with her, sir?" he asked.

The security guards allowed Trip into the compound. Soval motioned towards a large grey building. They began walking together.

"T'Pol is suffering from a head injury that has caused synaptic problems. The problems are similar to an interrupted mind meld," said Soval.

"Mind meld?" asked Trip.

"As her captain, you should know this. I am going to share with you intimate information that Vulcans do not share with outsiders. Vulcans are highly telepathic, though it is touch telepathy. We can meld our minds with another," he explained.

"I see," said Trip. "Will she be alright?"

"She'll be fine in time. A healer will meld with her and repair the damage as best she can," said Soval. "Koss, who T'Pol shares a tel with, has been called from Vulcan. He should arrive in two days."

"Tel?" asked Trip.

"A bond started in childhood that will eventually lead to a marriage bond," explained Soval.

"Oh, you mean her fiance," said Trip.

T'Pol had a fiance. The thought disappointed him. Suddenly, his headache returned. A dull ache appeared right above his right eye.

"Again, I am giving you this information, this intimate and private information, because you are her captain and you have accepted T'Pol as your XO. We wish for that relationship to continue once the commander is well," said Soval.

Koss. T'Pol was engaged to this guy named Koss. The ache above his eye intensified. Trip brought his hand up to his forehead and began to rub.

"Are you feeling alright, Captain?" asked Soval.

"Nothing to worry about, just a bit of a headache," he said.

"Really? Did you receive a head injury in the battle?" asked Soval.

"Kind of hit my head on the deck. The doctor said there is some activity in my psi area of my brain that he wants to check out, but I don't really have the time right now. I have to get the Atlantis up and running again," Trip told him.

"We could have a Vuclan healer check your injury if you wish," offered Soval.

"Nay, I'm fine," nodded Trip.

They entered the building and proceeded to the turbolift.

"The healers are expecting us," Soval said.

Trip nodded. As the turbolift rose floor by floor, Trip's headache started to dissipate. The doors opened and they proceeded down the corridor. As they approached T'Pol's room, Trip's headache suddenly disappeared. They entered the room.

T'Pol, who was in bed, stared at Trip. He had become better at reading the subtle changes in expression that Vulcans allowed themselves. She was pleased to see him.

"Captain Tucker," she said. Trip swore he heard a slight of something positive in the way she said his name.

"Commander," he said, "you had me worried. My first time out of spacedock and I lose my XO. I can't have that."

"Agreed," she said her eyes lit with humor.

Soval looked from T'Pol to Trip. He raised his left eyebrow in thought. The interaction between this Human and T'Pol was on a level of familiarity he hadn't expected. She responded to him.

"Soval told me that you might be here for a while," said Trip. "I'll try not to leave spacedock without."

"That would be appreciated, Captain," said T'Pol.

"I need my XO," he said sincerely.

T'Pol nodded. Soval observed a slight greening in her cheeks, as if she was emotionally touched by his comment.

A healer came into the room. He was a tall Vulcan dressed all in white.

"I have come to begin the healing mind meld," he said.

"Well, I guess that's my cue to leave," said Trip, who smiled at T'Pol.

She nodded towards him. For a few moments they remained locked eye to eye until Trip turned to Soval.

"Ambassador, thank you for escorting me here. I doubt I would have found the right room without you," he said.

"It has been interesting meeting you, Captain Tucker," said Soval.

Trip exited the room. T'Pol watched Trip leave, as Soval watched T'Pol.

"T'Pol, Koss will be arriving on the next transport from Vulcan in two days," stated Soval.

"It was not necessary to take him away from his work," she replied.

"I have arranged for him to meet with some Human architects. There is a possibility of a joint venture," said Soval.

"Then it is good that he did not waste a trip," she said.

**T'Karath Sanctuary**

S'anra and her men searched the ground level of the sanctuary for Syrran and the Syrranites, while Salan, Malcolm, V'Tan, and T'avak awaited them. Syrran took T'Pau and T'Les several levels down in search of the buried Kir'Shara. Vulcan was close to an upheaval, a great change. All it needed was the Kir'Shara to show the way.

For the Forge it was only a stifling hot evening, which Malcolm was thankful for. Since the only weapons that worked in the Forge were old fashion or projectile weapons, he stood beside Salan with a Klingon Kut'luch, an intimidating knife, and Klingon Tajtiq, a Bowie-like knife, in the other. V'Tan and T'avak had Lirpas, while Salan had fighting sticks.

"This should be a bloody blast," said Malcolm.

"Used everything I taught you and whatever else you know. S'anra and her men are highly trained," Salan told him.

"Here I was thinking I'd tickle her to death," smiled Malcolm.

In the background they heard the scuffling on coming feet. It was time to fight.

"I hope Syrran finds that damned artifact soon," growled Malcolm.

"To think that this sanctuary was once a place of peace," said Salan.

"Well then, we can help these Rommies rest in peace," said Malcolm.

"Humor at this moment," said Salan, "so Human."

The Romulan cell cleared the rubble and rocks that made up the sanctuary. They also were armed with similar weapons, though S'anra carried a Bat'leth. She stared at Malcolm.

"You are Vulcan afterall," she said.

"I am even worse than that; I'm human," smiled Malcolm.

With those words she and her men attacked.

**The Atlantis**

Hess and her team along with the spacedock's team of engineers and techs were hard at work repairing the _Atlantis_. Trip attempted to join the repair team, but Hess escorted him out of her engineer room.

"You are the captain of this ship, Trip, so go to captain things," she said.

"I was just hoping to spend a couple of relaxin' hours working with my hands, Hess," he protested.

"We lost our communication department before they even joined us," she pointed out.

Trip sighed. She was right. His communications officer and his team were KIA on Mars. He needed a full replacement team and he needed a good one. Stalking the corridors of the Atlantis he headed back to his ready room. The Detailers Officer cold assign him new personnel and more than likely that personnel would be either midshipman on their first cruise or ensigns with little experience. He wanted the best.

Arriving at his ready room, he entered and headed for his desk. His acting science officer was handling communications at the moment. He commed them.

"Mister Chen, can you get me Admiral Forest's office on the comm. Route it to my ready room when you have him," said Trip.

"_Aye, aye, sir_," came the response.

Trip settled back and waited. Above his right eye, that dull ache reappeared today. It was minor in comparison to the other day, more of a reminder than a headache. He thougth of talking to Phlox about it, but decided it could wait. What couldn't wait was getting T'Pol back. He missed her. It didn't really make sense to him, but he actually had a void in his life called T'Pol.

Of course, she was engaged, so he needed to convince himself that he missed her because she had the potential to be the best XO in the fleet. She had experience and had a genius level intellect to go with it. T'Pol challenged him and he loved that. It was exhilarating. Her cold surface had more subtleties and shadings to it than he thought possible and he was learning to read them. If he wasn't careful, he'd fall in love with his XO.

Love. T'Pol. The thought didn't disturb him, though. Loving T'Pol seemed natural to him, as if it was meant to happen. Trip took a deep breathe and exhaled. These were no the proper thoughts for a captain. He needed to focus.

"_Sir, Admiral Forest_," came his science officer's voice over the comm.

Th image of Admiral Forest appeared on Trip desk view screen.

"How can I help you, Captain?" asked Forest.

"Sir, in the attack I lost my communication department staff. They were all killed. I need someone to put my communications together. I need someone good," said Trip.

"Who are you thinking about?" asked Forest.

"Hoshi Sato."

"Liuetenant Commander Sato just finished a special project, Tucker. She is highly in demand.

"Her latest UT matrix can be downloaded on the Atlantis and she can test it in space where it needs to be tested. Plus, once I have her I thin I can get her to use all her skills as my head comm officer," smiled Trip.

"She is a valuable commodity, Captain," said Forest, who seemed uninterested in Hoshi leaving Earth.

"Sir, I am sure that Hoshi would be more valuable on my ship than holed up at Starfleet Command," Trip stated. "From expanding the UT to fine tuning comm systems and even code breaking, she'll be using all her skills with me."

"You are becoming a pain in my ass just like Archer," said Forest.

"Yes, sir," replied Trip.

"She is yours if she says yes," said Forest.

"Thank you, sir," Trip said then broke the connection.

"Now All I need to do is convince Hoshi," Trip sighed then he sat back in his chair. "I guess I'll have to buy her dinner or something like that."


	11. Chapter 11

**The Constellation**

Trip stood on the bridge of the _Constellation_ along with Commodore Nagura. He had been invited by her there to watch the _Enterprise_ and part of the first fleet warp out of the Sol System on the way to Alpha Centauri. Nagura stood beside him in front of her command chair as they stared at the view screen. In a matter of seconds the _Enterprise_ and seventy starships broke into warp and disappeared in an elongation of white. The rest of Archer's first fleet would meet him at the newly named Starbase AlphaCom.

"What a beautiful sight," said Nagura.

"Damned impressive," smiled Trip.

"Will you join me for dinner?" asked Nagura.

Trip smirked then said, "A commodore inviting me to dinner, huh? If I'm not mistaken it would be considered an insult if I refused."

"A friend is asking you to dinner," she corrected him.

"In that case what are we having?" he asked.

"The appetizer is sashimi and sushi with a main course of Kobe beef along with grilled asparagus and grilled noodles. There is warm sake or cold beer if you prefer and for dessert green tea cake and coffee or tea," she told him.

"How can I refuse that meal?" chuckled Trip.

"Good. I was afraid I was going to have to pull rank to get you to stay," said Nagura then she leaned in and almost got up on her tiptoes so she could whisper without being heard. "And I miss you."

Trip looked down at Commodore Nagura and smiled. The pain above his right eye reappeared. It was its usually dull ache. He had gotten used to it so much that he was now able to ignore it.

"So, when is dinner, Commodore?" he asked.

"Let me show you to the commodore's mess," she smiled.

Trip was Nagura's only guest for dinner. He sampled first some sake then some salmon sashimi. Ten years early he would have balked unless the fish was cooked up in a frying pan, but he'd changed a lot from those days. His father was a considered on the best hovercar engineers and his mother a mathematician, but no one expected Trip to be as brilliant as he turned out to be. It embarrassed him on a certain level, so he played the country boy. There was no more hiding for him behind his Southern charm, though.

"I heard that you are going to pin some medals to your chest for what you did with those drones," Nagura grinned.

"All I did was my duty," sighed Trip.

"We lost millions of civilians during that attack, Trip," she said. "They need a hero or two to make the people rally. The minute we find out who are behind those drones you know we are going to war."

"I now, Kaori," agreed Trip.

"Trip, don't be so modest about this. You and your crew will deserve the attention and it's good for your career," she said.

"As you said millions died," he growled.

"And you saved millions more with your actions. The commander and crew of the Nova are receiving posthumous medals. We need some live heroes to go with the dead of that day," she said.

"Kind of jaded, Kaori," Trip said.

"I guess I'm becoming cynical, Trip."

"You're upset that you were at Proxima gathering your protection fleet together. You're blaming yourself for this, are you, Kaori?" Trip said.

"If I had EarthCom setup and on patrol, I don't think they would have gotten close to Earth," she admitted.

Trip reached over and touched her left hand with his left hand. It was meant to show compassion, not passion. Nagura looked over at him.

"I've really missed you, Trip," she sighed.

His dull ache started to become more a strong headache than a dull ache. Trip ignored it.

"If we were on Earth having dinner in a restaurant I'd invite you back to my place," he smiled.

"But we are on my starship and we must set an example. Can't have a man leaving the Commodore's quarters at three in the morning," she said then offered him a frail smile.

"You know by the end of this war the frat rules are going to be rethought and rewritten," he said.

She lifted her glass of sake and offered him a toast, "Here's hoping that it doesn't take that long."

**The Forge, Vulcan** Under a navy blue night sky, T'Pau, T'Les, and Syrran took turns carrying the Kir'Shara, while Malcolm and Salan took the lead with T'avak coming up the rear. They had lost one in their party, but S'anra and her men had lost their lives in a battle in which Salan grew even more admiring of Malcolm's skills. The plan was to get out of the Forge and then Salan contact his associates in the V'Shar in order to contact certain councilors so that the Kir'Shara could be exposed to the general population.

"Councilor Kuvak and Councilor S'Tal are supporters of the Syrranites," said Salan. "They believe the Kir'Shara will change Vulcan society for the better."

"V'Las and his sidekick Talok?" asked Malcolm.

"V'Las is part of the Romulan cabal that is weakening Vulcan and Talok is a Romulan," answered Salan.

Malcolm reached for his water bag hanging from his left shoulder and took a mouthful of water. He closed the bag and then took a deep breath.

"Sounds easy, but I have the filling it won't be easy to get this Kir'Shara to the people," said Malcolm.

"Perceptive," said Salan. "V'Las will have Vulcan High Command troops out looking for us with a shoot to kill order. He also understands the importance of a true interpretation of Surak."

"Bloody hell," sighed Malcolm. "After this I'm going to need a vacation but I don't think I'll go to the beach. I'm thinking snow skiing at a lodge in Vale."

"Snow skiing - sounds fascinating," said Salan.

"I'll take you along with me just as long as you don't complain about the cold," said Malcolm.

"I am Vulcan. I do not complain," stated Salan.

Malcolm laughed at the man who was slowly becoming his friend.

**Shuttle Headed to Earth**

Tri was dressed in his casual dress uniform. Lizzy had called him and she needed a date to a social event that was taking place in Paris. The UE invited representatives from all the alien embassies, as well as talented individuals from representative planets. At the core of this event was raising the funds and reconstruction of the bombed areas. Lizzy had spent the last week working with Vulcan and Andorian architects designing the homes and buildings for New Hong Kong.

The shuttle landed gently on a landing pad near the United Earth Government Building. Trip was the third to exit and was surprised to see his sister waiting for him along with a Vulcan he'd never met before. Lizzy had her dirty blonde hair, the color of Trip's, up and was wearing a black evening gown. He walked up to her and gave her a hug.

When they separated she motioned to the Vulcan, who was taller than Trip, and spoke, "Trip, this is my associate Koss. We were running late for the event, so I talked him into coming with me. His betrothed is already at the soiree."

Trip stood straight and made the Ta'al, which T'Pol had taught him. He made the hand gesture then said, "Live long and prosper, Koss."

Koss returned the gesture and said, "It is an honor to meet you, Captain Tucker. My betrothed T'Pol speaks highly of you."

"How is my XO doing?" he asked, as the dull ache returned and started throbbing.

"She is well and will be returning to duty in thirty-seven hours," he answered.

"Excellent," Trip smiled, as the pain in his head got worse.

"If you'll excuse me, I must find Ambassador Soval, Ambassador Tos, and T'Pol," Koss said then he turned to Elizabeth Tucker. "It has been fascinating working with you. If our proposal is accepted, I look forward to working with you."

"It has been a pleasure, Koss," she responded and he walked away.

Trip rubbed his forehead.

"You okay, Trip?" she asked her brother.

"Fine. Just overworked," he sighed.

"How William doing?" she asked.

"Midshipman William Tucker is working in operations at the moment. I believe he is training in tactical," said Trip.

"Do you think we have another Tucker engineer?" she asked.

"Based on aptitude tests we have a Tucker tactical officer," smiled Trip.

"Our uncle isn't going to like that," chuckled Elizabeth.

"Come on, Lizzy, let's get our seats so I can get some water and maybe take an aspirin," Trip stated.

The large ballroom was fitted with tables for five hundred and still allowed a small orchestra and dance floor. The stewards escorted Trip and Lizzy to their table, where also sat Rear Admiral Paris, his date for the evening Senator Alana Borghese who was the chair of appropriations, Admiral Jefferies and his wife Mei, and Senator Rudolph Strasse and his wife Dagmar.

"Captain is a pleasure to meet you," said Senator Strasse. "The senate has discussed giving you a medal for your actions destroying drones and missiles. Unfortunately, you didn't get all the missiles launched, did you?"

Maybe it was the sound of the senator's voice or his headache getting worse, but Trip didn't feel like playing politics.

"I'd rather my crew receive medals rather than me," he replied.

Paris knew Trip from his fitrep reports read his tone and body language that he was not in the mood to deal with a politician. Lucky for him, Senator Borghese read Trip's mood also. The beautiful Italian senator decided to help Trip.

"Captain, you are a true hero. You give your crew credit and take none for yourself," she smiled.

"Thank you, ma'am," said Trip.

"Senator Strasse, I think we should let this young man enjoy the evening," she said.

"I was just trying to elicit an opinion," said Strasse.

"Between the attack on Jupiter Station and Mars and ships defending Earth, we lost over 1100 men and women," started Paris, "so I think the young captain should be allowed to keep his opinions to himself."

Jefferies looked over at Tucker. He could see that the man looked slightly distressed. Trip rubbed his forehead.

"Are you feeling okay, Tucker?" asked Jefferies.

"Headache, sir. I've been working on getting the Atlantis ready," he said.

Jefferies smiled, "Little sleep and lots of work?"

"Yes, sir," he said. "I could use an aspirin."

Senator Borghese reached into her pocket book and took out a pill case. She opened it and took two pills out then handed them over the table to Trip.

"Senators get headaches often," she smiled.

"Thank you, ma'am," said Trip.

He took the pills with water, as Elizabeth answered questions about working with Vulcan and Andorian architects. She regaled them with amusing culture clashes, as Trip sat quietly and scanned the room. He saw T'Pol with Soval, Tos, and Koss. Her usually serene expression appeared forced. As his eyes caught her face, she turned her head and looked straight at him. It was as if she knew he was looking at her. His headache went away and her face lost that strain to appear serene.

At the Vulcan table, Soval noticed the look which passed between T'Pol and Trip. His right eyebrow raised in a mix of concern and curiosity. He needed to get Captain seen by a Vulcan healer. It was becoming imperative. Koss spoke up at the table.

"I was opening that we could have our kal'i'farr ceremony before I leave for Vulcan," he stated. "It is time we move from our childhood bond to a permanent one."

T'Pol turned her head back to the table and conversation. When she made eye contact with Captain Tucker, she was sure she felt a sense of relief that was not her own. Now Koss was discussing marriage. It was disconcerting.

"You wish the kun-ut of our ceremony to be Earth," said T'Pol.

"Earth is where we are," he said.

"Commander T'Pol is in an important position at the moment. I think it best serves Vulcan if she remains Captain Tucker's executive officer rather than marries you, Koss, and begin the proscribed year of close contact that is called for. Of course, that is unless you are willing to live on the Atlantis," stated Soval.

"This is a personal matter, Ambassador," said Koss.

"We are Vulcan. We will to serve. Commander T'Pol serves Vulcan in her current position," Soval said with a hint of authority.

"I understand, Ambassador," replied Koss.

"Commander," Soval addressed T'Pol.

"Yes, Ambassador."

"When you return to duty, I wish to tour the _Atlantis_," said Soval.

"I will speak to Captain Tucker," said T'Pol.

**The Vulcan High Command**

The building was one of the most impressive Malcolm had seen in his life. The fact that he was now in one of the many rooms of this buildings fighting a Vulcan guard, while Councilman Kuvak and S'Tal faced off against V'Las with the assistance of Syrran and T'Pau. Salan subdued Major Talok, who had stunned T'Les with a phaser.

"This is traitorous, Kuvak," stated V'Las. "I will have you put to death."

"Syrran carries the katra of Surak, V'Las, and the Kir'Shara," said Kuvak.

Malcolm finished his guard off. Salan called to him.

"Malcolm, take his phaser and stand guard. Let no one into this room until this is done," Salan told him.

Malcolm grabbed the phaser off the unconscious guard, set on full strength, and fired at the door's control panel destroying it. He then stood guard at the door. V'Las saw that it was hopeless.

"You are all traitors," he yelled showing emotions.

Kuvak looked at him with disdain.

"You have come to your end," said Syrran. "Vulcan will know the truth and be set free."

"You are a fool Syrran," said V'Las.

"I agree. But Surak is not and I carry his katra until it can be removed by the priests of Gol," said Syrran. "T'Pau, how does it go?"

T'Pau had placed the Kir'Shara container in the middle of a scanner. She was now at work unleashing the untainted philosophy and words of Surak.

"I am almost done," said T'Pau.

Malcolm couldn't believe that he had gone through everything just for words, a philosophy, but here he was waiting for the Kir'Shara to spout out the unmitigated word of Surak. He almost felt like a Vulcan waiting for it.

"You have allowed the Rihannsu into our home," said Kuvak. "You are the fool and the traitor, V'Las. We are Vulcan not Romulan."

"We will be unified," said V'Las.

"Never," stated Kuvak.

"Councilman," Syrran interrupted Kuvak.

Kuvak looked over at the leader of the cult V'Las feared. Syrran appeared to be uneasy on his feet.

"I will need to be taken to Gol soon. I have carried the katra of Surak for too long. If I should die in giving up Surak to the priests, I ask that you should treat T'Pau as the leader of the Syrranites. She has been raised to lead," he said. "Even if I should survive, she should be treated as the leader. I will take place at Gol guarding his katra and interrupting his words."

Syrran sat down in a chair.

"I need to go into a trance now, if Surak's katra and I are supposed to survive," said Syrran.

He closed his eyes. T'Pau finished her work and the Kir'Shara released the words of Surak in a holographic display that filled the large room. Kuvak looked up in awe at Surak's true words. Malcolm smiled. Salan walked over to Malcolm.

"We have succeeded, my friend," said Salan.

"About bloody time," grinned Malcolm.

"I don't know about you, but I could use a good meal, fresh clothes, and sleep," said Salan.

"And a strong glass of whiskey," said Malcolm.

"The Earth Compound should have that and I will join you in a drink," said Salan.

"Thank God we saved the compound from being bombed," chuckled Malcolm. "I'll need to contact Starfleet Intelligence."

"In time, Malcolm. In time," nodded Salan. "I have a feeling you and I will be working together. We have exposed the Romulans and more than likely opened what you Humans refer to as Pandora's Box."

Malcolm sighed in agreement.

**The Atlantis**

Trio stood at the hatch door long with his new marine commander Major Ethan Hawkins and COB Duggan. A petty officer waited until the light turned from red to green then he opened the hatch door letting Soval, T'Pol, and another Vulcan onto the starship.

"Welcome aboard, Ambassador Soval," Trip said. "This is my marine commander Major Hawkins and Chief of the Boat Duggan."

Soval offered the Ta'al and said, "Live long and prosper. Thank you for having me onboard your starship."

"I thought Major Hawkins and COB Duggan could give you a tour then we can meet in my ready room," said Trip. "I have ship's business with Commander T'Pol."

"That will be satisfactory, Captain," said Soval.

"Hawkins, Duggan, carry on," Trip said.

"Yes, sir," barked Hawkins.

"Aye, aye, sir," added Duggan.

Duggan and Hawkins escorted Soval and the other Vulcan away. For a moment Trip and T'Pol stared at each other. His headache was the first time in days. He avoided Phlox and got an analgesic from a medic when Phlox was at dinner or off duty.

"Commander, good to have you back," he said.

"I have been given a clean bill of health, sir," she said then handed him a PADD with her duty papers on it.

"I have no doubt," smiled Trip. "Let's drop off your duffel at your quarters and then go to my ready room. We can review crew changes and such."

"Yes, Captain," T'Pol said.

The pair continued to her quarters in silence. He was amazed at how t peace he felt in T'Pol's presence. As for T'Pol, she had been guarded since her accident because she couldn't remember what exactly happened. What she knew was that since her head injury she had emotions feelings towards Captain Tucker. She had always found him an interesting and aesthetically pleasing Human. There were times the attraction was such that she needed extra time meditating, but now she was only comfortable when in his presence.

After her quarters they proceeded to the captain's ready room and began crew review. While Trip sat behind his desk, T'Pol sat in one of the chairs in front of it with a PADD in her hand and reviewed the new crew additions.

"Lieutenant Commander Hess has made Chief Rostov the permanent engineering crew on the Alpha shift," she said.

"Yeah, he's great in engineering but she wanted a stable presence on the bridge to handle monitoring and damage control teams. Plus, she knows he understands my shorthand way of speaking," Trip told her.

"He will make the Alpha shift stronger," she remarked. "And Major Hawkins?"

"Yeah, that change was made by Starfleet Command. It appears that the _Atlantis_ will be part of a task force and Hawkins will command all the marines on all the ships. He had greater experience," said Trip.

"Has our task force been decided on yet, Captain?" she asked.

"Not that I know of. But then again the captain of the ship is the last to know," he smiled.

T'Pol found herself staring at his smile for a few moments before she forced her attention back to her PADD. The ready room door announcer chimed.

"Enter," called Trip.

Duggan escorted Soval and the other Vulcan into the ready room. Duggan nodded and left. Trip looked at his chronometer. It had been ninety minutes.

Trip stood up and said, "Ambassador Soval, I hoped you found the tour interesting."

"You have an exceptional starship, Captain," said Soval.

"Thank you," said Trip then he sat down.

"I didn't introduce my companion, Captain. This is Healer Varak. He would like to scan T'Pol one last time to make sure she is completely healed," said Soval.

"Please do," he said.

T'Pol looked at Varak, who took out a medical scanner and started scanning her. What Trip didn't notice was that he had the scanner set at its top setting so that he was also scanning Trip. After fifty seconds of scans, he stopped and nodded at Soval.

"Thank you, Captain," said Soval. "Commander T'Pol, I know we will be speaking soon."

"Duggan is waiting outside my ready room to escort you to your shuttle," said Trip.

"Thank you again, Captain," said Soval.

Soval and Varak left T'Pol and Trip to their duty. Duggan motioned them down the corridor and they followed him. Soval started speak high golic Vulcan to Varak.

"What did you find from the scans?" he asked.

"The Captain suffers from an incomplete mind meld."

"I though as much," said Soval.

"There is more. There is a start of a marriage bond between T'Pol and the captain. Their bond has replaced her bond with Koss."

"This is a complicated situation that must be dealt with carefully," said Soval. "Do they know they have started a bond?"

"I do not believe they are aware."

"Complicated indeed," said Soval with what sounded almost like a sigh.


	12. Chapter 12

**First Fleet**

The _Enterprise_ was docked at the starbase above Alpha Centauri. Rear Admiral Archer sat in the office of Commodore Xeng, who was in charge of the starbase. The pleasant face, graying hair Chinese commodore smiled benignly at Archer, who seemed to be filled with boiling intensity. They were waiting for subspace communications from Rear Admiral Leonard.

"I sent two twelve ship patrols out," Archer said. "I also have six frigates flying CAP over Alpha Centauri and us. I'll set up regular patrols and assignments soon. I know the ECS Cargo representatives have been more of a presence by Starfleet."

"Are your patrols looking for pirates?" asked Xeng.

"Looking for anything they can find," said Archer.

"_Rear Admiral Leonard's comm, sir_," came the message from ops.

Xeng pressed the comm button on his desk and said, "Send him to the view screen in my office."

"_Yes, sir_."

The view screen came to life.

"_Commodore Xeng, Vice Admiral Archer_," said Leonard. "_Most of this news will effect you, Archer_. _First up, Starfleet Corp of Engineers is sending two construction crews to start work on the First Fleet's orbital base. The first ship should arrive tomorrow._"

"Will this base take on any of the duties of my starbase?" asked Xeng.

"_No. It will be there to dock first fleet ships, as well as repairs of those ships, and off-ship quarters_," said Leonard. "_We are looking at Alpha Centauri as being the permanent home for the First Fleet_."

"How's the Second Fleet Coming?" asked Archer.

"_Vice Admiral Paris has set up shop at Terra Nova. A starbase and orbital base are underway, as is the re-terra forming of the planet. The Novans have signed a treaty agreeing to temporary relocation until the planet's surface is pristine again. Paris is a bit tough to deal with_," said Leonard.

"Paris must love all the work that must be done," chuckled Archer.

"_He already is sending a strike fleet of fifty ships to Vulcan. That damned planet is in the midst of a bloodless revolution because of the finding of Surak's writings. They are expelling Romulan infiltration cells and Romulan sympathizers. The High Command no longer exists. It's been replaced by the High Council and a young female named T'Pau was named Prime Councilor. Half their commanders of their fleet have either resigned to pursue Surak's philosophy and half were sympathizers. We are sending the ships as support and protection_," explained Leonard.

"Fifty ship strike force sounds like you are expecting problems," said Archer.

"_The chances are that it was the Romulans who attacked us_," said Leonard. "_The new Vulcan government has pledged getting to the truth if it was the Romulans. They are a lot easier to deal with than the old government_."

"What do you want from the First Fleet?" asked Archer.

"_I need you on high alert_," said Leonard. "_Between Orion Syndicate activity, Nausicaan Brigands, Klingons, and now Romulans, we have too many hostiles out there_."

"Do you have any intel I should know about?" asked Archer.

_"Just an up tick of chatter which is making Shin nervous_," said Leonard.

"If you need the first fleet, you know where to find me," nodded Archer.

**Starfleet Command**

AG Robinson, Captain Ramirez, Captain Hernandez, Captain Kahn, Captain Hunter, and Trip sat in the small conference room. The four captains were dressed in their duty uniforms rather than their casual dress uniforms, a sign that they were called to this meeting on short notice. Chief of Staff Admiral Rodenberry and Chief of Operations Admiral Forest entered and sat at the head of the table.

"Captains," Rodenberry greeted them.

"We have the assignments of last of the NX," said Forest.

"And I thought you forgot about us," smiled AG.

"We might as well start with you, Captain Robinson," said Rodenberry.

"How come I suddenly feel like I'm going to be punished?" asked AG.

The other captains laughed.

"You are to be promoted to Rear Admiral and will command the newly commissioned third fleet," said Forest.

"Congratulations, you old spacedog," said Hunter.

"Third fleet. That would be third best, right?" smiled Ramirez.

Hernandez smiled, a tight forced smile. Kahn and Trip clapped then saluted him.

"I expect you all at my wetting down," he said.

"I wouldn't miss it," said Hernandez.

"Thank you, Erica," said AG.

"The third fleet will be HQed at Jupiter. Besides the rebuilding of Jupiter Station, Starfleet Corp of Engineers will be an orbital base for the third fleet," said Forest. "Commodore Nagura and EarthCom will still be tasked with protecting Sol, but third fleet will be utilized if necessary. The UE have made promises that attacks on Earth will on happen again."

"That leaves the rest of you," said Rodenberry.

"Hunter, you'll be in charge of a ten ship task force. It will be called Task Force: Guardian. You're job will be to protect Proxima Colony, especially since we are going to be increasing their shipyard. Although we will not be building anymore NX class ships, that doesn't mean we won't be building ships," stated Forest.

"At least Proxima has more of nightlife than Terra Nova," he smiled.

"Kahn, you'll also command a ten ship task force. It will be called Task Force: Beachhead. Along with Starfleet Corp of Engineers you and your task force will head into Xindi territory. The Corp of Engineers will build a starbase and orbital base and you'll be in charge of both the task force and starbase. You'll be both ambassador and Starfleet commander until the DiploCorp is willing to send a full vested ambassador to Xindi space," explained Forest.

"We have hopes that the three friendly Xindi races will become part of a coalition that is being discussed," said Rodenberry.

"Archer's old dream," remarked AG.

"Jonathan is the force behind the concept and still plays an important role since the Andorians, Tellerite, Coridians, and Xindi all trust him," said Rodenberry.

"Next up, Captain Ramirez. You will command Task Force: Spearhead. Your task force will comprise fifteen ships," said Forest. "Task Force: Spearhead will be part in our rapid response plan. You'll go into hot areas to assess and respond."

"Sounds interesting," said Ramirez.

"Captain Hernandez and Captain Tucker, you also will be part of the rapid response plan. Hernandez, you'll command fifteen ships and your task force will be called Task Force: Peacemaker. The same for you, too, Tucker. You command a fifteen ship task force and it will be called Task Force: Sparta," said Forest.

"Ramirez, Hernandez, and Tucker, you have six weeks to acclimate to the other ships and captains and train," said Rodenberry. "Your tasks forces will be expected to be the best of the best."

"Also, Captain Tucker, two items. Items number one, you are to be awarded the Starfleet Medal of Honor next week. Always, Ambassador Soval wishes to consult with you on a private matter," said Forest. "Soval has become even more important in this new Vulcan government, so I expect you to be nice and make the Vulcan happy, or whatever Vulcans are instead of happy. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

AG looked down at his fellow captains.

"My fellow officers, I guess drinks are on me at the 602," he added his voice.

**Earth Compound, Vulcan**

Malcolm lay on the biobed while the doctor examined him. His injuries were minor, easily taken care of, though he did suffer from dehydration. What was his greatest concern was returning his features from Vulcan back to Human.

"The doctors did a remarkable job on you," Doctor Stein. "Through DNA manipulation your blood is even green. Copper. Hmmm."

"Can you fix me?" Malcolm asked.

"I can curb bob your ears and fix a few other things, but the genetic manipulation done to you must be fixed by those who did it," said Stein. "Do you want me to get started?"

"Bloody hell, if I'm going to have green blood I might as well as look like a Vulcan for now," sighed Malcolm.

Malcolm sat up. He felt tired. The last few weeks had been taxing mentally and physically. He needed a long vacation and he wanted to go somewhere cold. Getting up, he grabbed his shirt and out it on then he put on a jacket. Since he looked like a Vulcan he didn't want to wear his Starfleet uniform as it would cause too many people to ask questions.

He offered the doctor his right hand to shake and said, "Thank you, Dr. Stein."

Stein grabbed his hand to shake then suddenly felt his hand caught in a vise, as Malcolm squeezed.

"Remember, everything about me is top secret. Only someone with 4-A security clearance gets answers about me," he said in a cold threatening voice.

"Yes, I know," said the doctor.

This was the reason he left Section 31 the first time. You had to do things which went against your ideals and your morals for the greater good. Here he was threatening a good doctor because he needed secrecy kept.

Malcolm nodded and exited the doctor's exam room to see Commander Fenster waiting for him. Fenster was station chief of Starfleet Intelligence on Vulcan. Waiting with his was Salan. Salan also wore civilian clothes in earth style rather than the robes of Vulcan. He walked over to them.

"You still look Vulcan," said Fenster.

"It's best to let the people who did this to me undo it," said Malcolm.

"Bad luck," said Fenster.

"I gather you would be noticeable staying here in the Earth Compound as a Vulcan," said Salan.

"I'd stick out like a wart on Cinderella's arse," said Malcolm.

Suddenly the ground shook and the sounds of explosions could be heard. The three men ran towards the nearest exit. Once outside they saw that they were being orbitally bombed. Fenster grabbed a passing Ensign.

"What's happening?" he ordered.

"Being attacked by what the Vulcans are calling the Rihannsu," said the ensign.

"Romulans," stated Salan. "We are being attacked by Romulans."

**Soval's Office**

Trip beamed up to the Atlantis and change into his casual dress uniform rather than show duty in his duty uniform. He told the other NX captains that he'd meet at the 602, but that was a lie. All he wanted to do was return to his ship and get it ready to leave dock tomorrow. T'Pol would be receiving the names of the fifteen ships and their captains. He wanted to study information on them rather than be visiting with Soval.

Soval's aide de camp led him into a quiet room with a small dripping water feature and dessert plants. The heat of the room hit him in the face almost like a physical punch. He noticed Soval in his grey and brown robes standing and talking to another Vulcan, who wore white robes. They stood by a large cactus.

Soval stood the conversation and acknowledged Trip with a nod. He then dismissed the aide de camp with a hand motion.

"Captain Tucker, than you for coming. This is Healer V'Tem," Soval made the introduction.

"Ambassador, you wanted to see me," said Trip.

"Yes. It is about a very private matter involving Commander T'Pol and, we think, you," said Soval.

"Me?" Trip questioned.

"Yes, you. Commander T'Pol has a blank spot in her memory," V'Tem spoke up. "When T'Pol was injured, the report said you were the first to check on her. Did she touch you, Captain Tucker?"

Trip looked from V'Tem to Soval. He felt like he was suddenly under attack. His headache returned and started to throb. Did she touch him? It was a chaotic moment. Did she touch him? Yes, she did it. He remembered. She did touch him and it was electric.

"Yes, her hand touched my face," he answered.

V'Tem raised an eyebrow and looked at Soval, who had two eyebrows raised.

"Captain, do you suffer from headaches since that day?" asked Soval.

"Yes, I do," he answered. "Do you know why?"

"I believe we do," said Soval. "May Healer V'Tem scan you?"

Trip started to feel his emotions come to the surface. Did T'Pol accidental do some sort of Vulcan mumbo jumbo to him?

"Go right ahead," he said.

V'Tem took a scanner from the right sleeve of his robe. He opened the scanner and aimed it at Trip. For the next two minutes Trip waited as V'Tem scanned him then it was over.

"Fascinating," V'Tem said.

Soval looked at him with one raised eyebrow then waited for more information. Trip started to feel the bile of anger rise up his throat. The Healer just stood their reading the scans and ignoring him. His bedside manner sucked.

"It is just as my colleagues expected," said V'Tem.

"I see," replied Soval.

"Am I dying or something?" asked Trip.

Both Vulcans turned and looked at him. It was Soval who spoke for them.

"You are not going to die," said Soval. "Your health has some stress on it, but it can be dealt with."

"So what is wrong with me?"

The two Vulcans looked at each other and communicated with looks. Again Soval was the one to speak.

"It is complicated but can be handle," said Soval.

Before he could continue with his explanation several Vulcan security members came into the room. One of them walked up to Soval and whispered to him. When he was done Soval looked at Trip. The expression on his face was that of a stern teacher.

"Vulcan is under attack by the Romulans," Soval announced.

**Earth Compound, Vulcan **

Combination of marines and Starfleet security manned the barriers set up as protection and coverage. Armed with phase pistols, phase rifles, plasma mortars, and plasma bazookas, they held off the Reman ground troops that hit landfall in personnel carriers. The battle was viscous and bloody. Malcolm and Salan took to the front line with the marines and Starfleet security.

"Fall back to the inner defense wall," ordered the marine captain.

The hundred marines and fifty security guards were on the verge of being overwhelmed by the straight out of horror movie Reman.

Malcolm and Salan helped injured to fall back to the next level of parapet where twenty-five fresh marines and sixty non-security Starfleet members waited to give cover. An EDW Gatling gun was set up and a marine sat in the seat and started aiming and firing forcing the Remans back.

Once over the wall, corpsmen took the injured away. Malcolm and Salan were handed thermal and ceramic layered EDW resistant body armor and helmets.

"Put them on. They can at least stop one disruptor shot, but after that God or luck has to be on your side," a gunny told them.

"Are we getting any re-enforcements?" asked Malcolm.

"The Vulcans have their hands full and Starfleet has fifty ships on the way, but we aren't expecting them for four days. I'll have MREs sent over to you when I can," the gunny said.

"Thanks, Gunny," said Malcolm.

"Keep cool and call when your charges are low. These vampire looking things are getting this compound without one hell of a fight," said Gunny then he laughed as he headed over to his men.

Salan looked at Malcolm and said, "I don't see the humor."

"That's because you're a bloody Vulcan," smiled Malcolm.

**Weytahn **

The Andorians thought of Weytahn as part of the Andorian Empire. The moon like surface was terra formed into an ice paradise for Andorian colonist. The Andorian warships the Charal, Arotev, Garoth, Gar'Lev, and Hrish orbited the planet along with their Stargarrison Asometh. It was a planet best described as strategic rather than an important colony.

Commander T'Lev of the Garoth was bored when his operations officer announced the detection of fifteen warp signatures. It was soon after that he was that warp signatures belonged to ten Romulan Warbirds and five Birds of Prey. They were being invaded by a superior force.

"Communications, alert the Elite Guard. Tell them Weytahn was being invaded by Romulans. We are at war," growled T'Lev.

The Warbirds and Birds of Prey opened fire on the stargarrison and orbiting ships. The Andorian ships went into attack mode but they were overwhelmed. The battle was short. First, the stargarrison was destroyed then the Andorian war cruisers. With the ships and garrison out of the way, the Warbirds began orbital bombardment of the colony on Weytahn. It was a massacre.

**The Atlantis**

The _Ares_ commanding officer Commander Devon Sands was on the view screen. Trip was rubbing his forehead as he listened to her report on the efficiency of the frigates during the simulation. She finished up and Trip looked up at his former XO.

"Commander, this task force has five frigates and ten Daedalus class cruisers along with the _Atlantis_. Each class starship has different capabilities, different strengths and weakness, and different performance levels, yet I need us to be working as one task force," he said. "Task Force: Sparta even has its first assignment and that is to take Ambassador Soval to Vulcan where he is supposed to convince Prime Councilor T'Pau and several others to leave Vulcan for the safety of Earth. I need better from you, Devon."

"Yes, sir," she said softly. "I will run simulations for the frigates separately until we are up to acceptable level then I'll schedule simulations with the Daedalus Class ships."

"Get on it, Commander. Tucker out," he said and Hoshi cut the view screen connection.

Trip looked over at Hoshi and said, "Lieutenant Commander Sato, how are you adjusting to have ops and communications run through your station?" he asked.

"More work but it flows well, Captain," said Sato.

"Excellent," he said. He then turned his chair and looked at T'Pol who was at the science station, even though she was his XO.

He agreed with her when she pointed out she was his best science officer and could handle both duties. She looked up from her board with a raised eyebrow.

"Captain, can I help you?" she asked.

Since his interrupted meeting with T'Pol, he had avoided thinking about T'Pol and when she touched him. It appeared that as long as she was close by, his headache went away, so that he could deal with the problem later. Soval said his health wasn't in danger, so the problem could wait. Anyways, he was going to have Soval and two other Vulcans on his ship for a trip to Vulcan in two days. During the trip to Vulcan maybe he could finally get whatever happened between T'Pol and him straightened out.

He noticed now that T'Pol was staring at him. For some reason he couldn't take his eyes off her lower lip. It was full, inviting, and getting him aroused. He needed to work some things out of his system.

"You have the conn, Commander," he said. "I'm going to the gym for a workout. I need to blow some steam off."

"I'll contact you, if you are needed, Captain," she said.

He noticed that T'Pol's eyes lingered on him for an almost noticeable period. Getting up he headed off the bridge. Soval was going to finish their conversation this time and he was going to find out exactly what was wrong with him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Earth Compound, Vulcan**

"The Vulcan Lunar Colony on T'Khut has been retaken," started General V'Len.

The tall stern faced Vulcan general held the attention of everyone in the situation room. The room was filled with Starfleet and Vulcan personnel, such as marine Colonel Chaim Gold, Rear Admiral Paris, Fleet Admiral Taval, Captain Eleanor Smyth, Captain S'Tal, Salan, and Malcolm. They stood around holographic image of Vulcan showing the hot spots.

"Shir'Kahr, Gol, Kir, Shi'Al, Raal, Regar, Ta'Regar, Ta'Raan, Na'Nam are city that are secured by Starfleet and Vulcan troops. Nal'Sahr, Tal'Vlsor, Tat'Sahr, and Ta'Riah still have pockets of occupation by Romulan ground troops, the Reman. Han-Shir, Go'an, and Ta'Ralor are still occupied by Romulan ground troops. There are also pockets of Romulans ground troops in the Liangorn Mountains and Vilton Flats near Cheleb-Kohr."

Paris looked over at Colonel Gold. He nodded giving him permission to speak.

"We have marine recon fire teams prepared to enter the Vilton Flats and Liangorn Mountains to force the Romulans out into the open. These fire teams will be supported by Vulcan V'Shar Paramilitary," said Gold. "We want to sweep them out into the open to deal with them efficiently and with less loss of troops."

Colonel T'Lin of the Vulcan Security spoke up, "The V'Shar Paramilitary troops will be reporting to your recon marines this afternoon."

"Excellent. We can start planning for troop infil for forty-eight hours from now," said Gold.

"Our combined fleets have pushed the Romulan invasion fleet back, but at a cost. They have taken the planets Weytahn, Horst and Jan'Tral, where they have set up bases and re-supply depots," said Paris. "The Andorians took heavy losses. Their Earth ambassador has asked for a meeting with UE President Samuels and Starfleet Fleet Admiral Taylor."

"We are in no position at the moment to counter attack their positions on those planets," stated Fleet Admiral Taval.

"Considering we think this invasion force was a comparatively small percentage of their overall fleet, we must be cautious," said Paris.

"Our intelligence puts the Romulans fleet at better than 2,000 starships," said Colonel T'Lin.

Paris grinned with humor at the female security officer. Section 31 had warned Starfleet that the Romulan fleet stood at 2100 starships, as well as five hundred Reptilian Xindi and 260 Insectoid Xindi starships. It appeared that the losing Xindi found a home in the Romulan Empire. Plus, there were rumors of the Nausicaans and Orion Syndicate being made offers by the Romulan Star Empire.

"Our NX ships are superior to any of their starships and our Daedalus Class when completely upgraded and refitted are better," said Paris, "but they have the numbers."

"The analogue is the cold war Earth period of the later 20th Century. The Soviet Union and the United States of America were the superpowers," T'Lin started her lecture. "The Soviet Union had the superior numbers in fleet and troops, but the United States Of America the superior trained and supplied troops and superior ships. Of course, the high end trained troops are probably equal, or close to equal. There is a difference, though. The Romulan Star Empire has the advantage when it comes to drone ships and they are experimenting with rudimentary cloaking."

"Task Force: Sparta is being sent to exfil important Vulcan leaders to Earth," said Paris. "Once on Earth they can discuss an alliance treaty, as well as ensure that your new government doesn't fall during this time of war. Vulcan doesn't need anymore political upheaval at the moment to go along with beating back an invasion."

"I speak for the High Council and they appreciate United Earth's assistance during this time of difficulty," said Fleet Admiral Taval.

"Captain Tucker will be here within the week to pick them up and take them back to Earth," said Paris.

Taval turned and looked at Salan.

"Prepare to return to Earth, Salan. You will become our liaison with Section 31," Taval told him.

Salan nodded then he said, "Lieutenant Commander Reed should also accompany me. He is my connection to Section 31."

"Reed, prepare to exfil with Task Force: Sparta," stated Pairs.

"Yes, sir," said Malcolm.

"You two are dismissed," said Paris.

Salan and Malcolm exited the situation room. As they headed down the corridor Malcolm broke the silence.

"Harris knows you. You don't need me," he said.

"We make an excellent partnership, Malcolm. I thought I'd give Harris a chance to further use us together," said Salan.

"Oh, he'll use us alright. He'll use us until we are dead," sighed Malcolm.

"Then it is up to us to disappointment him," said Salan drawing a laugh from Malcolm.

**The Atlantis**

Ambassador Soval, Healer T'Val, and Tas, Soval's aide de camp, materialized on the teleportation pads along with their luggage. T'Pol along with petty officers waited to greet them. She offered the Ta'al and said, "Live long and prosper."

Soval returned the Ta'al and said, "It is satisfactory to see you, Commander T'Pol."

She was dressed in the blue duty jersey of the science and medical divisions of Starfleet, though she wore a black thermal shirt underneath that covered her neck. Soval noted to himself that she appeared comfortable in the Starfleet uniform. Like her beloved father, T'Pol's emotions often came to the surface. She was highly emotional for a Vulcan. He promised his associate and krie Sevant that he would guide T'Pol, if he died in his duties as a V'Shar agent. Soval had tried to keep that promise. His marriage had never produce progeny and Soval admitted to himself a certain fondness for T'Pol.

"T'Pol, I would like to speak to you in my quarters once I am settled," he said in a dialect of Vulcan that he knew the Humans had translated yet.

"Is this ship's business or Vulcan business?" she asked in the same dialect.

"It is clan business," he said.

"I shall attend to you after I report to the captain," she told him.

Soval nodded.

"I shall escort you to your temporary quarters," she said in standard Earth. "The petty officers will take your luggage."

**The Bridge of the Atlantis**

Trip felt a certain amount of unease having Soval and another Healer onboard his ship. He knew that Soval had answers for him about his headache, but he was afraid of those answers. Things between him and T'Pol were going so well, he hated the idea of upsetting them. The fact he continued to have sexual dreams about his XO was something he'd learn to deal with in time.

"Captain, all Task Force: Sparta ships have reported in that they are ready for warp," Hoshi interrupted his thoughts.

Trip pressed the comm button on his command chair connecting him to Engineering.

"_Yes, sir_," answered Hess.

"We ready for warp, Hess?" he asked.

"_Oh, yeah, we are ready. I think our max is easily 7.5, Captain_," she answered.

"We can't eave the task force in our dust, Anna. Give me a cruise speed of warp 4.5. The frigates can handle that," he said.

"_Yes, sir_," she said not even bothering to hide her disappointment.

Trip smiled then cleared his throat.

"Hail the task force and put me on the comm, Hoshi," he said then stood up, so he was standing when he came on the view screen.

Hoshi did as she was told, "You are on, sir."

"This is Captain Charles Tucker III. Prepare to warp to Vulcan in five minutes. Our cruising speed will be warp 4.5," he said. "Tucker, out."

He sat down in his command chair. T'Pol entered the bridge.

"Mister Isaacs," he said to his helmsman, "give me warp in five minutes. You heard what I said."

"Aye, aye, sir," Ensign Jerome Isaacs replied.

T'Pol walked up beside his command chair to report. He turned and looked at her and again felt his heartbeat increase. Little did he know that the same effect was produced by T'Pol.

"Our guests are in their temporary quarters," she said.

"How many are we picking up?" he asked her.

"Thirty in total," she answered.

Trip sighed. He could handle that many, but it would mean clearing people out of their quarters and making things uncomfortable for some of his crew. Someone was going to share his burden.

"Let Commander Sanders of the _Sherman_ know that he is taking fifteen of our illustrious guests. The Sherman is the lead Daedalus Class ship," he said.

"I shall let him know," she replied.

"Also, I need a yeoman to do the administrative and clerical work for me," Trip said. "I want you to assign one for me, T'Pol. No one too intrusive, please."

"I shall go over the duty roster and assign you a yeoman, Captain," she said.

"Thank you, commander," he said.

"Captain, Soval wishes to speak to me. May I be dismissed for now?" she asked.

"Does this have to do with our mission?" he asked.

"Soval and my father were krie. The human equivalence would be cousins. It has to do with family business," she told him.

Trip had come to understand the importance of family to Vulcans. He also knew that the concept of who and who wasn't family was complicated.

"You are dismissed, T'Pol," he said.

He stared into her dark eyes and she into his blue eyes. Again, it was only a matter of seconds, but they felt as if they were connected and seconds could last hours.

"Thank you, Captain," she said.

She turned crisply and exited the bridge. Trip sat back in his command chair then sighed.

**Soval's Guest Quarters**

Soval had changed out of his ambassador robes and into a less formal one. He waited patiently for T'Pol. Knowing his krie well, he knew it best to speak to her first about this matter to allow you to process, suppress, and eventually assimilate her emotions. Like her father, she had become excellent as hiding her emotions, but they sometimes erupted and he wanted to save her the embarrassment.

His door announcer chimed. Soval stood up from the desk he sat at and turned to the door.

"Enter," he said.

T'Pol entered. He motioned to the chair near the desk then he sat back down. In true Vulcan style he came to the point.

"Do you still have memory loss from the accident during the drone ship?" he asked.

"My memory of that time period has not returned," she stated.

"The healers have come to a conclusion what happened during that period of time," he started and T'Pol raised her left eyebrow.

"Is this conjecture on their part?" she asked.

"There is enough proof to state that it is not conjecture," said Soval. "During the period when you were first injured and in a state of confusion, Captain Tucker attended to you. It appeared in response to his attention that you initiated a marriage bond with him, though it was not completely because you loss consciousness."

Soval witnesses a flash of emotion cross her face. He wasn't sure if it was panic or distress or something deeper, but it was easily spotted. Soval was glad he had this meeting in private.

"You suffered from an incomplete mind meld. Surreptitiously, our healers have scanned Captain Tucker, who suffers from intermittent headache since the accident. He suffers from an incomplete bond," Soval told her.

T'Pol felt weak. It had to be true. Her sexual feelings towards Captain Tucker, her moments when she believed she felt his emotions, and her dreams, they were all because of an incomplete bond.

"Do you symptoms you have not discussed with healers?" he asked her.

"Yes, I do," said T'Pol.

"You have kept these symptoms secret?" he asked.

"Yes. I had hoped that they would pass in time with extra meditation."

"They will not pass that easily, T'Pol," said Soval.

"What can we do about this?" she asked.

"It has been discussed and the most expedient and safest process would be to complete the bond for now. We do not have enough information on how breaking a bond will effect a Human," said Soval. "It could leave psychological if not physiological damage to Captain Tucker. The bond must be completed and studied before ending it without dangerous repercussions."

"We must tell Captain Tucker," said T'Pol.

He will hate me, she suddenly thought. A powerful sense of sadness started to overwhelm her. She didn't want his hate.

"We shall tell him. It will be you, V'Tal, and myself. Since he is Human I believe it will be an emotional meeting, but I hope to convince Captain Tucker the importance of doing this our way," said Soval.

He looked at his krie. Soval couldn't see that she was now having difficulty dealing with her emotions. She needed to suppress and assimilate and that meant meditation. He stood up and offered her his hand. She too his hand and stood up. He sent calming emotions through his touch to her.

"We shall meditate together now," he said.

"I have duties," she said.

"Captain Tucker will forgive you. I will talk to him," he said.

"Thank you, Soval," she said.

"I live to serve," he replied.

**Alpha Centauri **

Archer was in the command and control room watching on the holo-chart the advancement and listening to the comm chatter of the _Mountbatten_,_ Berlin_, _Cook_, _Geronimo_, and six frigates. Commander Philips, Archer's top aide, stood beside him. The ships were sent out to protect a cargo run of eight ECS cargo ships from Vega to Alpha Centauri.

"_Captain Carlson, we are picking up echoes on the edge of sensor range. The Mountbatten, Berlin, and Cook are checking them out. I want you and your ship the Geronimo to stay behind with the frigates to protect cargo ships_," Captain Uwusu could be heard over the comm.

"Philips, where is the nearest patrol that can be called in to support the Cook?" Archer asked.

Philips checked the patrols on the chart.

"Near DrayLax there is a three Daedalus Class four Frigate patrol. At the frigates emergency warp speed of 5.5 they could be rendezvous in ten minutes," Philips told him.

"Have communications to dispatch them at emergency warp for a rendezvous under my orders," said Archer.

"Yes, sir," said Philips, who relayed the order to the communications officer.

"_This is the Mountbatten_," the voice of Captain Uwusu came over one of the comms clearly. "_We are encountering two drone ships and five Reptilian Xindi ships. I have ordered my patrol to fall back to the cargo.._."

There were the sounds of an explosion and then static.

"_The Mountbatten is disabled and under barrage_," came a voice over the comm from the Berlin. "_The Xindi have cut them off so we can't get to them_."

"Tell the _Berlin _and _Cook _to emergency warp out of there and get back to the cargo ships," ordered Archer.

"Yes, sir," said Philips.

"Ensign, on the main board bring up all the current patrols," barked Archer.

Archer scanned the board at the six three day patrols he had sent out. Besides protecting colonies and cargo runs, Archer wanted the patrols to act as outreach to unallied planets as well as planets with treaties. He started to calculate which patrols to send as backup and which patrols to have re-enforce each other.

"Sir," Philips interrupted Archer's train of thought, "the _Berlin_ and _Cook_ have emergency warped away. We have lost the _Mountbatten_."

"Put the first fleet on tactical alert," ordered Archer, "then get me Starfleet Command."

"Yes, sir," said Philips.

**The Atlantis**

Trip sat at his desk. T'Pol told him that Soval requested a private meeting with him, T'Pol, and V'Tal. He agreed and now waited for the meeting to take place. The door announcer chimed.

"Enter," he called out.

Soval followed by V'Tal and finally T'Pol entered the ready room. Trip stood up and greeted them with the Ta'al. Soval returned the gesture then spoke.

"Thank you, Captain Tucker, for agreeing to this private meeting," said Soval. "This matter is personal but also cultural. What is discussed here cannot be shared with others unless agreed upon."

"I'm kind of confused," said Trip.

"Do you mind if we sit?" asked Soval.

"Sorry for my rudeness," said Trip, "please, sit down."

V'Tal and Soval took the chairs in front of his desk, while T'Pol sat alone on the sofa. Trip noticed that she refused to make contact with him. He sat down.

"The headaches you have been suffering from can be explained to you now," Soval started. "You said after she was injured in the attack that T'Pol touched your face. This is what is causing your headaches."

"I heard that Vulcan were touch telepaths. Is that the reason?" asked Trip.

"Partially," answered Soval. "V'Tal explain a tel."

"A tel is a marriage bond. When Vulcans marry they bond with each other. This is done through a mind meld, a conjoining of minds. Once the bond has taken effect, the bonded mates must stay with each other for a year allowing the bond to mature. Once the bond is mature, the bonded can sense each other, feel each other's emotions, and, in the case of the strongest bonds, speak to each other through the bond," explained V'Tal.

"T'Pol accidentally initiated a marriage bond with when she touched your face. You are suffering from a partial bond," said Soval.

"I'm not Vulcan and I have a PSI rating of zero so how the hell can that happen?" growled Trip.

"That is difficult to explain since we have no examples of Humans and Vulcans bonding," said V'Tal. "There is one thing that is true and that is that even the beginning of a bond would not have occurred between a Vulcan and an alien race unless there was attraction on both sides."

Trip blushed at this. He looked over at T'Pol and saw a slight greening of her ears. She was blushing, too.

"What can we do about this?" he asked more harshly then he meant to sound.

"That is a problem. We are very private about our mating rituals, which you have now become embroiled in," said Soval. "As much as possible we want to keep this matter private."

"Yeah, me, too," sighed Trip. "Can we severe the bond?"

"In extreme cases a p'pil'la'ai can take place. This can only happen though if the severing of the bonds does not damage either party," V'Tal pointed out.

"You mean severing the bond can damage me or T'Pol," he said.

"It is possible," said V'Tal. "We need to study the bond between a Human and a Vulcan before we know if it can be severed without damage."

"Alright, I got to ask then what do we do?" asked Trip.

Soval raised his right eyebrow and then spoke, "May I suggest a solution?"

"Go right ahead, Ambassador," Trip said.

"You complete the bond. Once complete we allow it to mature. Healer V'Tal will study the effect of the bond on both of you, as well as the quality of the bond. After a year, she will have enough information to know if the bond can be severed without damage," explained Soval.

"Two problems: one, what are the parameters of us living together for one year, and two, how can V'Tal study us?" asked Trip.

"Being on the same ship and having quarters close to each other should be enough to satisfy living together," said Soval. "As for V'Tal, she has volunteered to become part of Dr. Phlox's staff onboard the _Atlantis_. Do you agree with our solution, Captain?"

Trip slumped back in his chair. He looked over at T'Pol, who had been quiet throughout the whole meeting. She looked dejected to him. Instead of feeling angry with her, he was concerned for her. Was this part of the bond?

"I agree under on circumstance: Either Admiral Forest or Rodenberry has to be told," he said.

Soval nodded his approval.

"I will discuss this matter with T'Pau. If she agrees then Prime Councilor T'Pau and I will explain the situation to Admirals Rodenberry and Forest," said Soval.

"What do we do now?" asked Trip.

"You complete the bond," said V'Tal.

"Okay, let's do it," he sighed.

Soval stood up then said, "I shall leave you now. V'Tal will stay to scan the bonding."

"Ambassador," said Trip, as he watched Soval leave.

Trip looked over at T'Pol. She finally looked at him. He could see the pain she was trying to hide in her eyes.

"Should I come over there?" he asked.

"Please do, Captain," she said.

He got up and moved over to the sofa. Sitting down beside her, V'Tal took out her medical scanner and started her scan. T'Pol looked into Trip's eyes then brought her right hand up and touched his PSI nodes. Trip closed his eyes, as he felt an overwhelming warmth rush through his mind and into his body. After the warmth, there were some very strong emotions that were not his own. The emotions were gratitude, guilt, sadness, and even a hint of need. As soon as the mind meld started it ended. He opened his eyes and stared into the eyes of T'Pol again.

"The bond is now complete," said V'Tal.

V'Tal put away the scanner.

"I shall leave now," she said then left T'Pol and Trip alone.

Trip stood up and went back to his desk and sat down in his chair. T'Pol stood up.

"Commander, this is about as a bizarre a situation as I have every encountered, but we will handle it. I have faith that this will be resolved as best as it can be. For the next year, we are kind of stuck together. I think we can handle this. Talk to the quartermaster and have your quarters moved to the quarters next to mine. I believe they belong to Major Hawkins. I'll talk to follow about V'Tal joining his staff," he said.

"Yes, Captain," said T'Pol.

She started to leave, but Trip stopped her.

"T'Pol," he called to her.

She turned and looked at him. He smiled at her.

"I'm flattered. I wasn't looking to get married right now, but I am flattered," he said.

"And I am sorry for inconveniencing you, Captain Tucker," she said.

"Don't be sorry, T'Pol. It was a mistake. And as V'Tal pointed out, the bond wouldn't have worked without attraction," he said. "I guess I'll see you, Soval, and V'Tal for dinner. Invite Lieutenant Commander Sato, also, please, and I'll invite Phlox."

"Yes, Captain," she said.

Trip grinned then said, "Carry on."

T'Pol left him alone in his ready room. Again he slumped back in his chair. He sighed loudly.

"FUBAR, Tucker," he said. "FUBAR."


	14. Chapter 14

**High Council Building, Vulcan**

T'Pau walked along the balcony with a recovering Syrran, as well as T'Les. The Remans and Romulans left on the ground were proving a difficulty, as small groups of Vulcans either supported or hid them. The Romulan invasion fleet sent sorties on a daily basis in order to occupy some of the Vulcan and Starfleet Fleet. Vulcan was still under siege.

"I do not want to leave," said T'Pau.

"You must. We need Earth's assistance and you must ensure it with agreements and treaties" Syrran told her.

"Kuvak, V'lar, Spivak or even Tas can negotiate agreements and treaties," insisted T'Pau. "I should be here during this dangerous time."

"You duty lies with ensuring Vulcan's future. Leave this to the admirals and generals, T'Pau. Ensure Vulcan's future," stated Syrran.

"How?"

They stopped and looked out at the city. There was a large explosion. A fireball licked the sky. More lives were taken by the Romulans terrorists who were still on Vulcan. T'Pau knew Syrran's insight was greater than hers because of his experience and his carrying of Surak's katra. She needed to trust him, as she had always done. But it was difficult.

"The key to our future is a strong Earth at the center of a coalition. Now that we have the true, unadulterated philosophy of Surak, we will turn more towards diplomacy and exploration. The idea of us maintaining a large fleet even for protection will become a problem," Syrran told her. "For us there is the philosophy of Surak or there is Rihannsu."

"I do not trust the Humans," stated T'Pau.

"Many Humans do not trust us," Syrran replied. "That will be one of your greatest challenges. It is time for you to learn diplomacy."

T'Pau took a few moments and stared out at the city. Syrran was her mentor, almost a father to her. She needed to listen to him. Both Syrran and T'Les waited for her to speak.

"I shall go," said T'Pau.

"And T'Les shall accompany you as your personal assistant and mentor. We cannot forget that you are only thirty-six years old, almost an adolescent," said Syrran.

"When I am leaving?" she asked.

"Task Force: Sparta is coming to pick you up and transport back to Earth. The lead starship is the _Atlantis_," stated Syrran. "I am told that it will arrive in three days and that its executive officer is T'Pol."

T'Les raised her eyebrow in shock.

"My daughter is the executive officer," she said.

"Yes," answered Syrran. "Soval wishes to speak to you, T'Pol, and high priestess T'Lun after you are transported to the starship. He said it is family business."

Again T'Les raised her right eyebrow. Was her daughter in trouble again?

**Street of Shir'Kahr **

Along with two fire teams of marines, Malcolm and Salan made a house by house search of the market area for Romulans and Remans. It was going on five in the evening, but the heat of the day still clung to them. The marines stopped for a water break. Malcolm took advantage of the break to pull the flap open of the water bag he had slung over his shoulder and suck on the straw. The water was warm, but it was better than nothing. Once he was done with the water, he took a salt pill. Even though with the dry Vulcan climate he didn't sweat as much as he should, which would help to cool him down, he still lost a great deal of salt over a period of days.

"I have been told by my director in the V'Shar that Section 31 has accepted my request to be seconded to them," Salan told him.

"Congratulations, mate," said Malcolm.

"Of course, there is a provision and that is that we remain partners," Salan told him.

Malcolm closed his eyes. He really had hoped that this mission would be a one off for him and Section 31, but it appeared he was back in Harris' clutches.

"What did Harris say?" he asked knowing the answer.

"We have proven too valuable a partnership to break up," he said.

"Did he mention what he had store for us?" asked Malcolm.

"He mentioned either a big the lines mission to Romulus or checking out the Klingon threat. I am hoping for Klingons. I tire of Romulans," said Salan.

Malcolm closed his and shook his head. He was either going to have to deal with Klingons or Romulans. He started laughing. Salan just watched him. Once he stopped Malcolm looked at Salan and his raised left eyebrow.

"What?" he asked.

"You laughed. I said nothing humorous or so I thought," said Salan.

"You've been on Vulcan too long, Salan. You're starting to become Vulcan again," chuckled Malcolm.

"Fascinating," replied Salan.

This made Malcolm laugh even harder. It too him a few moments to regain his composure. Salan watched him with interest.

"I am glad I can amuse you, Malcolm," Salan said sincerely.

"Have you ever faced a Klingon?" Malcolm asked.

"No."

"They are some of the scariest war driven buggers I've ever seen," said Malcolm. "And they are ugly. I hope Harris doesn't expect us to look like them."

The Gunny came up to Malcolm and Salan. He had his phase rifle with plasma rocket attachment cradled in his arms.

"Break time is over. We got two more blocks worth of houses to do before we can call it a night," he said.

"You sure know how to show someone a good time, Gunny," said Malcolm.

"Ooorah," replied the marine. "Lock and load."

**The Atlantis**

T'Pol was in her new quarters trying to meditate. She was unable to do so because she was restless. T'Pol stared into the flame of the candle trying to find peace, but all she found was agitated, even fidgety. It wasn't her own restlessness, though; it was Captain Tucker's. Standing up and putting on a robe, she prepared to go to his quarters next door.

Dressed in grey men's sleepwear pants and a blue Starfleet tee shirt, Trip paced the floor of his quarters. He had tried to get some sleep but he couldn't. At first, he thought a good workout would help but after lifting weights and then a half hour on the treadmill, he was still brimming with nervous energy. The problem was that he needed some sleep.

His quarters door announcer chimed. He walked over and hit the open button and the door opened to expose Commander T'Pol standing there in a silk robe.

"Commander," he said, "how can I help you?"

"I have been unable to meditate or sleep because you are restive. I thought I'd offer my services to you in order to calm you," she said.

Trip sighed. He intellectually understood the bond, but emotionally still had processed what it meant. T'Pol was affected by his moods.

"Come in," he said.

She walked into his quarters and looked around. The captain had the largest living quarters, but she had never seen it. It had space for a larger than normal bed, a desk and chair, a sofa, and still had space. She noticed he had replicas on a shelf of the _Ares_, the _Lisbon_, the _Holloway_, and the _Atlantis_, which were all ships he served on. On another shelf she noticed figurines representing Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, and the Wolfman.

"You can feel my being fidgety?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"How come I can't feel you?"

"Because of my training I can out barriers up to block the flow of my emotions through the bond," she said. "I am blocking my emotions."

"I see," he sighed. "Can you teach me how to put up mental barriers?"

"Yes, Captain," she said.

"Okay, if we are going to do this and do this over the next year, you can't just call me captain. I give you permission to call me Trip," he said.

"Vulcans do not use what you call nicknames," she said.

"So, you won't call me Trip," he said.

She nodded her head in the negative.

"What would you be willing to call me?" he asked.

"Charles," she answered.

"Okay, Charles it is," he said. "So you said you can help me calm down, how?"

"Yes. Vulcans believe in using the bodies own abilities to heal the body. I wish to stimulate nodes in your body which will assist you in falling asleep," she said. "It is called neuropressure."

"Okay, what do I have to do?" he asked.

"If you remove your shirt and sit down on the floor, I will begin to work on nodes in your back," she said.

"You want me to take my short off and sit down on the floor," Trip repeated sounding hesitant.

"Charles, we are bonded. Neuropressure will help us deal with our bond," she said.

"And you can teach me how to put up mental barriers, right?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Okay," he sighed, "let's give this a try."

Taking off his tee shirt, he tossed it onto his bed then he sat down on the floor. T'Pol removed her robe to expose blue Triaxian silk pajamas. She kneeled down behind Trip and began to manipulate areas beside his spine. Trip let out a deep exhalation of breath, as T'Pol worked on his back.

"Have I hurt you?" T'Pol asked.

"No, God, no," said Trip. "It feels great."

With those words T'Pol moved her hands lower down his back. Trip moaned and T'Pol worked his muscles and nodes deeper.

**The Enterprise **

Vice Admiral entered the Control and Command. It was part of his daily check of patrols and CAPshe had instituted. Lieutenant CommanderPhillips was overseeing the Beta Shift. When he saw Archer enter the C&C, the marine Lance corporal announced it and Phillips snapped to attention.

"Commander, relax," said Archer. "What news do you have for me?"

"Well, besides Draylax, the Romulans have taken Kaleb. That gives them Draylax, Kaleb, Weytahn, and Horst. They are quickly setting up bases and supply depots. You have to admit that these bastards are talented at invasion and conquering," said Phillips.

"I know," sighed Archer. "The Third Fleet had to send two strike fleets along with Task Force: Spearhead to re-enforce Tellar and Denobula. Talks of a coalition consisting of Earth, Vulcan, Andoria, Coridan, Tellar, Denobula, and Rigel have started in Paris."

"I tell you I've studied the Romulan movements and the attack on Draylax, Kaleb, Weytahn, and Horst was not targets of opportunities. I think they had these planned as a contingecy if the Vulcan invasion failed," said Phillips.

"Explain, Commander," said Archer.

"It appears that small strike fleets were waiting to hit these planets to start a full invasion of the Alpha Quadrant if the Vulcan invasion failed. I'd say we have just finished with stage one. Stage two has started with the hqrrassement of Tellar and Denobula. They are looking to stretch out our fleets," explained. "I think Vulcan is their overall goal, but they are prepared to take all of Alpha Quadrant to take Vulcan."

"Have you filed your analysis of the situation with Starfleet Commander, Commander?" asked Archer.

"No, sir," he said.

"Do so. I think you are onto something," said Archer. "Well done, Phillips. If you keep this up I'll lose you to operations as a planner."

Phillips smiled.

**The** **Atlantis**

Trip stared down at his Tuscan tomato soup, as he sat in the Captain's Mess with Soval, V'Tal, T'Lun, and T'Pol. Hoshi, Hess and Hawkins had asked him in private to be disinvited to the dinners, as they feared causing a diplomatic incident by talking about something they shouldn't. The Vulcan vegetable broth soup. The main course was going to be salad and vegetable lasagna.

In Vulcan tradition they ate in silence, which Trip was relieved by. Spooned some soup into his mouth then put his spoon down and took a sip of his iced tea. The steward came out and collected the bowls. Once he had exited Soval spoke up.

"When will we arrive at Vulcan tomorrow?" he asked.

"1400 hundred hours, Ambassador," answered Trip. "We intent on collecting the VIP parties and an intel pack from Admiral Paris then we will be warping out of the system."

Soval nodded, as the steward pushed a cart into the mess with their dinner plates. The silence reestablished itself. Trip had told the chef to skip dessert since Vulcans didn't eat dessert. As his meal was placed in front of him, he felt a suddenly sense of concern. But it wasn't his concern; it was T'Pol's concern for him. Once the steward left he looked over at her and she returned the stare.

"Are you sensing each other?" asked V'Tal.

"I think so," answered Trip.

"Yes," added T'Pol. "The bond is flow both ways."

From the sleeve of her robe, V'Tal took out the medical scanner and scanned them. V'Tal nodded to herself.

"Your bond is new but is showing signs of being a strong one," said V'Tal. "Fascinating."

"Why is it fascinating?" asked Trip.

"Because you are not Vulcan," she answered.

Trip stuck his tongue in the side of his mouth for a moment and rolled it around. He looked at T'Pol. Her concern had turned to sense of rejection. He wondered if he was reading his body language.

"Not rejection just confusion," he said to her.

She calmed.

"I shall raise my mental barriers," she said.

"Tonight, you can start teaching me how to do the same," he said.

Soval looked from T'Pol to Trip and appraised them. His krie had always been high strung for a Vulcan. Many thought her bethrothal to Koss a badly paired marriage. Koss had excellent control. He now wondered if the best mate for his krie wasn't sitting to her left in the form of highly intelligent, overly emotional Human.

Once dinner was finished, Trip took his leave to check out some trouble they were having in engineering. Hess was sure that warp 7.5 was possible for an hour, while Trip thought they were capable of 7.5 for closer to three hours with some fine tuning. He spent three hours in engineering leaving once he had Hess believing he was right.

Getting to his quarters, he entered to have the door announcer chime almost immediately. He answered it to have T'Pol waiting in the hallway.

"Neuropressure?" he asked.

"Of course," she answered.

"I might as well give you my command code to enter my room," he smiled.

"Do you not want neurpressure this evening?" sh asked him.

"Darlin', I'm need it," he said then realized he called her darling.

She stood there with one eyebrow raised and thankful her mental barriers were up, otherwise he would know that his calling her darlin' pleased her. he was now tensing up.

"Commander, I'm sorry for calling you darling," he said.

"Charles, we are going through a difficult and intimate time. Mistakes will be made. Apologizes should be unnecessary," she told him.

She felt relief in him.

"I'll shower and be out in a minute. I know your sense of smell is highly attuned," he said.

She nodded then sat down on the sofa as he went into his private head. T'Pol wondered if he would be surprised that she didn't wear a nasal inhibitor around him because she had not only grown used to his scent, but found it pleasing. In general she felt very comfortable around Charles. It was unexplainable in her opinion.

He exited the head wear a black terry cloth robe and a pair of men's sleepwear black pants. Thy stared into other's eyes. Trip had an urge to grab her in his arms and kiss her, but he fought her. The point was to sever the bond eventually, not take the bond seriously. But damn it if she was a beautiful female.

**Vulcan**

The Atlantis orbited Vulcan. Without any major problems the first part of his mission was complete. Trip looked over at Hoshi.

"Miss Sato, hail Vulcan. Tell them that the Atlantis is here and ready to take on passengers then let Sanders on the _Sherman_ know he should pick up his passengers," ordered Trip.

"Aye, sir," she replied.

After moments Hoshi spoke up, "Captain, Vulcan shuttles are on their way to us and the _Sherman_."

"Thank you, Hoshi," he said.

T'Pol left her station and walked over to the command chair.

"Ambassador Soval will be waiting at the docking hatch to greet our guests. Major Hawkins and I should join him along with petty officer for luggage," she said.

"Go get her done, Commander," he smiled.

T'Pol raised her left eyebrow. He wasn't sure if it was amusement or annoyance, but Trip had the feeling he'd learn. T'Pol turned on her heel and exited the bridge.

"Sir, I received the intel packet," said Hoshi.

"Excellent, Hoshi," said Trip.

"Admiral Paris is hailing the Atlantis. He wants to speak to you," she told him.

"Put him in the view screen," he replied.

"Aye, sir."

Seconds later Admiral Paris' image took up the view screen.

"Captain Tucker," he started, "that is an impressive ship you got there."

"She's built to be a ship of line," he replied.

"Expect trouble on our way back to Earth," Paris warned him.

"You have intel?" asked Trip.

"I'm starting to get to know these sons of bitches," Paris said. "The Romulans have a jones for Vulcan."

"I heard their ground troops look like Nosferatu," said Trip.

"Ugly sons of bitches that look like vampire bats and fight hard. We are having trouble clearing this planet of them," he said.

"Good luck with that, sir. Is there anything I can beam down to you before we bug out of this system?" asked Trip.

"I could use a bottle of good scotch," he said.

"I have a case of MaCallan's ready to beam down to you, sir," said Trip.

Paris smiled then said, "With thinking like that, son, you'll be a full bird admiral by the time you forty. Paris, out."

The view screen returned to an image of the planet Vulcan.

"Hoshi, have transporter room one beam down the scotch to the Earth Compound," he said.

"Yes, sir," she smiled.

The Vulcan shuttle docked with the _Atlantis_. One by one the VIPs entered the Atlantis to be greeted by Soval, T'Pol, and Hawkins. Finally, the last three passengers started through the hatch. T'Pau stepped onto the Atlantis, followed by T'Les and finally Koss. T'Pol felt a wave of panic, which she immediately suppressed.

"Mother," she said.

"Daughter," replied T'Les.

"Prime Councilor T'Pau," Soval spoke up. "These Petty officers will carrying the luggage and show everyone but you, T'Les, and Koss to their quarters. T'Pol and I shall escort you three."

"Syrran has made T'Les m assistant and thanai maat, so that I am k'war'ma'khon. We are now part of the same clan," she said. "I heard there was important family business to take care of."

"Privacy is necessary," replied Soval.


	15. Chapter 15

**The Atlantis, Ready Room**

Trip sat looking at Salan and Malcolm. Both he and Salan were dressed in Vulcan robes. Trip didn't even bother to hide the smirk that was prominent on his face. Malcolm stood there seething and waiting.

"Okay, mate, start teasing me," he finally said. "Go ahead. I can tell that you're dying to do it."

"I like your ears," chuckled Trip.

"Ha, bloody, ha," replied Malcolm.

"See what happens when you do intel work, Mal," teased Trip, "someone pins your ears back."

"Captain Tucker, I assure you that Lieutenant Commander Reed has been exemplary in his actions," said Salan.

"I have no doubt about that, Salan. I also have no doubt that he is going crazy looking like a Vulcan, especially with Lieutenant Commander Sato onboard this ship," said Trip.

"How did you get Hoshi back on a ship?" asked Malcolm. "She was adamant that she had enough of ship duty. It was too dangerous."

"She is head of communications and ops. Both run through her station. Plus, she going to come in handy I've been told by the admiralty for what they have in store for us," said Trip. "Plus, I asked nice."

"It is good to see her," smiled Malcolm.

"Coming from the man who had so many girls in so many ports, he could use a form letter to write to them," laughed Trip.

"Hoshi is different, you know that, mate," said Malcolm.

"You appear to be close friends," observed Salan.

"Captain Tucker is my best mate," said Malcolm.

"And Malcolm is mine," grinned Trip.

"Fascinating," said Salan.

"You two want to sit down and debrief now, or do you want to go to your quarters, by the way you are sharing a quarters, and shower and change. You can debrief me over coffee," said Trip.

"I'd love a long, cold shower followed by a long hot shower, mate," said Malcolm. "We did a lot of battling in desert terrain down there."

"A short period to meditate would be nice for me," said Salan.

"Okay, I'll have a petty officer take you to your quarters and ninety minutes from now here in my ready room we'll have coffee and a snack," said Trip.

"Sounds good, Trip," said Malcolm.

Trip pressed the comm button and Hoshi answered.

"_Aye, sir_."

"Hoshi I need a petty officer to take Salan and Malcolm to their quarters," said Trip.

"_Right away, sir_," she replied.

Trip ended the comm. He looked at Malcolm once again and started laughing.

**Atlantis, Conference Room, Deck 10 **

Soval finished with the explanation of the situation between Trip and T'Pol. T'Les looked at her daughter with a raised eyebrow. T'Pol remained serene, as she stared at Soval and T'Pau. Though she was the youngest individual the room, T'Pau's opinion was important in the matter as she was the most powerful person in the new government.

T'Pau turned her head and stared at T'Pol for a moment then she spoke, "This matter must be handled delicately."

T'Pau nodded.

"I should challenge this Human," said Koss. "T'Pol is meant to be my bondmate."

"Koss, you are here because the situation affects you, but considering a bond has been made and verified between Captain Tucker and T'Pol, I believe your role should now be as spectator until we understand their bond and see if it can be severed without damage to Captain Tucker," Soval stated.

"I protest. We were going to have our kal'i'farr at Gol later this year," Koss protested. "I cannot allow T'Pol to sully herself with the katra of a Human."

"We need these Humans, Koss," stated Soval. "We cannot afford to cause a rift between our peoples."

"T'Pol is mine," he demanded.

T'Pol looked at him with a raised left eyebrow. In her opinion she belonged to no one.

"Koss, are thee Vulcan?" asked T'Pau in her most formal manner.

"I am Vulcan," he answered.

"Then do thee live for Vulcan?" she asked him.

"I live to serve," he answered.

T'Pau stared at him until he lowered his head conceding to her authority.

"Then, Koss, thee will serve Vulcan with thy silence," said T'Pau.

Soval looked at T'Pau and raised both his eyebrows. He was impressed by this young female Vulcan's skills at leadership. At first he wasn't sanguine with T'Pau taking such an important role in the new government, but her role as Syrran's lead disciple and one of those who found the Kir'Shara gave her power. Now he was rethinking his opinion of her.

"Soval and the Healer V'Tal have set a course of action for Captain Tucker and T'Pol and I endorse it," said T'Pau then she looked T'Pol. "Be strong, T'Pol. Being bonded to a Human will be difficult, challenging, but Vulcan needs you. A year is a finite amount of time. When we arrive on Earth, Soval and I will discuss this situation with Admiral Forest. Though, this may have occurred through an accident, it may end up being a fortuitous one for Vulcan, as it could strengthen our relationship with Earth."

"I live to serve," said T'Pol, then she lowered her head.

"We are part of the same maat now, T'Pol. I will look after your better interest along with Soval," said T'Pau.

**Task Force: Peacemaker**

Erica Hernandez sat in her command chair brooding over her orders. She and her task force were headed to New Xindus and Starbase 6. According to reports and intel, the Reptilian and Insectoid Xindi along with the Romulans were looking to retake some of the Xindi territory. Twenty ships under the command of Captain Stiles stationed to the sector. Now it was her job to take overall command and work out a protection plan with the Xindi in case of attack.

"Captain," her comm officer Ensign Song spoke up.

"Yes, Song," she said.

"I just received an intel packet from Starfleet Command," she told her commanding officer.

"Set it up on a secure feed on my personal computer in my ready room, Ensign," ordered Hernandez.

She stood up and looked over at her XO's station. Lieutenant Commander Patel caught her stare.

"Commander, you have the conn," she said.

"Yes, sir," he replied.

Hernandez marched off the bridge to the connect vestibule to her ready room. Entering the ready room, she sat down at her desk and accessed the intel. According to sources a Romulan Star Empire Attack Fleet supported by twenty Reptilian and twenty- Insectoid Xindi starships would be attacking Xindi territory. Starfleet Command was placing her in charge of Starfleet ships in the area. Erica released a long breathe of air. She had a major job ahead of her.

**The Atlantis**

Trip moved his hand gently down T'Pol's shirtless spine until he found the right area then he started to apply pressure as she had taught him. He heard hear take a slight intake of air into her lungs, a sign he had done it right. A smile appeared on Trip's lips.

He had to admit he'd come to enjoy these neuropressure session. They did relax him and allowed him to get more sleep then he usually was able to get. But there was more to it then better sleep. He had started to feel T'Pol's emotions when she didn't have her mental barriers up. Vulcan emotions had a depth and strength that surprised. It didn't surprise him that in the pre-Surak time that Vulcans were feral, passionate, and, at times, uncontrollable.

She was teaching him how to shield, how to raise and lower his mental barriers, so that he could control what he allowed to flow through the bond. It was exhausting work, but neuropressure was the reward after the session. Next, she was going to start teaching him to meditate, so that he could process her emotions when he got a full dose of them through the bond.

"Midshipman Tucker has been rotated to the science department," she said. "He is a relative."

"Yup," he said. "He's my cousin."

"I see."

"The middies get rotated from department to department then a review is done and they are slotted into the department they are best suited for," he told her.

"Is this true of all midshipmen?" she asked.

"Nay. Some are assigned right away based on aptitude, grades, and their major at the academy. I was assigned right to engineering. The warp 2.5 project to be exact then the warp 3 project then I was sent spaceside," he explained.

"I see," she said softly, as he worked his thumbs into her flesh.

Through the bond he could feel a flare of sexual arousal from his work on her spine. Instead of making him want to move on to another part of her body, it made him want to deepen her reaction.

"_Bride to captain. Bridge to captain_," came the voice of his quarters comm speakers.

Without hesitation Trip was up and hit the comm button on the comm unit on his wall.

"This is the captain," he said.

"_Sir, this is Ensign Mako. We have picked up ships on the edge of our sensor range_," he said.

"How many, Ensign?"

"_Twenty_," he said.

"I want Alpha Shift alerted and on the bridge. I'm on my way," he said and closed the connection.

T'Pol was already standing and adjusting her nightwear shirt.

"Alpha Shift has been breaking in Lieutenant Kendall at tactical," he started to tell her; "I want Lieutenant Morse brought up to run the station with Kendal assisting him."

"Yes, Captain," she said.

He felt nothing from the bond. She had turned it off like a faucet. T'Pol exited. Trip took a deep breath to steady himself then he got quickly dressed into a duty uniform.

He was the first to arrive on the bridge. He took the conn from Ensign Mako. T'Pol was next followed by Rostov, Hoshi, Singh, Isaacs, Morse, and then Kendal. Trip smiled to himself. While getting dressed she took care of ship's duty calling Morse and Singh to the bridge. Morse was now at tactical and Singh had taken T'Pol's place at science. T'Pol took her place standing at the XO station. Trip sat in his command chair and prepared to bark off orders.

"Hoshi, bring us to tactical alert," he started.

"Aye, sir," came the response.

"T'Pol, see if you and Singh break down these ships on the edge on sensors. I want to know who they are," was his next order.

"Yes, Captain," she replied then left her XO station and walked over to science station.

"Morse, heat up the rail gun just in case," he said.

"Aye, aye, sir."

"Helm, prepare for emergency warp if needed," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," said Isaacs.

With his orders given, he sat back and waited. Suddenly, the bridge doors opened and Major Hawkins came onto the bridge along with Malcolm and Salan. Trip knew that the marine had a place on the bridge, but the other two didn't unless he found a use for them. Hawkins walked over to the command chair and stood on Trip's right hand side.

"Should I have my marines ready for action?" he asked.

"I want your fire teams ready to help DC teams and in case of boarding to repel enemy," Trip replied.

"I'll have them ready. I'll send a marine to the bridge. It's protocol," he said throwing in the _it's protocol_ because he knew Trip hated having a crowded bridge.

"Carry on, Major," said Trip.

Hawkins left and was replaced by T'Pol.

"The composition of the starships is ten Orion heavy cruisers and ten Romulan Birds of Prey," she told him.

"The Orions seem to have taken a side," Trip sighed. "Hoshi, alert Starfleet Command to our situation. We have ten Orion heavy cruisers and ten Birds of Prey on our tail."

"Aye, sir," said Hoshi.

Trip sat and thought about this. Top speed of the Orion heavy cruiser was warp 5.8. According to intel the Birds of Prey topped off at warp 5.6. He didn't like just putting the pedal to the metal and not letting them catch the ships with VIPs. The _Atlantis_ for one could never be caught by them since it could cruise at warp 6.5 and top warp at 7.5.

"Hoshi, get me Captain Gomes of the _Pacifica_ and Commander Sands of the _Ares_," he said.

"What are your intentions, Captain?" T'Pol asked.

"Transferring VIP to one of the Daedalus Class ships. Five Daedalus Class ships will emergency warp away with the VIP then settle into their top cruising speed, while the rest of us engage those ships tailing us," he said.

"Captain, this is a risky move. We could let the frigates take the rear since they are slowest and keep ahead of these ships. The Atlantis could even take all VIPs since it is the fastest ship in the fleet," she offered an alternative.

"Commander," Trip started. He felt some heat of anger rising in himself. "The Romulans have done a decent job of keeping us off our stride and costing us a great many lives. I think it's time we punch back and punch back hard."

"Sir, I have Gomes and Song," said Hoshi.

"Good," said Trip.

**The Pacifica **

The VIPs were on the _Pacifica_ and the _Sherman. _Along with the Daedalus Class ships the _Merton_, _Czarina_, and _Warrior, _these ships emergency warped away and now were settled into top cruising speed. Malcolm and Salan along with Soval, T'Pau, T'Les, and Koss sat quietly in the captain's mess along with Captain Gomes. They were being served vegetable soup.

"Bloody hell, I can't eat knowing Trip and those ships are fighting right now," said Malcolm.

Gomes looked at Malcolm and shook his head.

"I can't get used to you looking like a Vulcan and acting Human, Commander," said Gomes.

"Have we heard from the Atlantis yet?" asked Malcolm.

"No, but we shouldn't yet. Captain Tucker was going to hold off engaging them until we had a lengthy lead," said Gomes.

"When will be arriving at Earth?" asked Soval.

"At this speed, we arrive at Earth tomorrow," said Gomes. "Of course, that is just as long as our engines can maintain top cruising speed. This is the _Atlantis_."

"Was it wise for Captain Tucker to engage enemy ships at a 2 to 1 disadvantage?" asked T'Pau.

"Brave, but I'm not too sure wise," said Gomes.

"He is counting on the _Atlantis_ as being the difference maker," stated Malcolm. "Since it is Orion heavy cruisers and Birds of Prey and no Romulan Warbirds, he figures to have an advantage. Our frigates pack a good punch and can take a beating, while the Daedalus class was big, strong, durable ships. The _Atlantis_, though, has no equal. The NX class is superior to most ships to begin with and the _Atlantis_ is the fastest, toughest, and most powerful of the NX.

"You served with Tucker," said Gomes.

"I served with him when he acted as Archer's XO and Chief Engineer," said Malcolm. "For an engineer, Trip has a gift for command."

**The Atlantis**

Two of the frigates were listing from damage. Trip had them fall back. Of the Daedalus one was had taken enough damage to fall back and the other four were still in battle condition. Six of the Orion ships heavy cruiser were either disabled or destroyed. Two had bugged out leaving two in the battle. Five of the Romulan Birds of Prey were destroyed, two were disabled, and three were still in the battle. It was the _Atlantis_ that did most of the damage on the opposing ships.

A direct hit on the _Atlantis_' bridge had caused multiple energy overloads. Unfortunately for Trip, his chair was one of them. The left arm monitoring panel exploded burning his left hand and arm and sending shrapnel into his left side. He ignored the pain.

T'Pol felt the pain through their bond. She turned and looked at Trip and saw him in obvious pain, so she moved quickly to his side.

"You need medical help," she stated.

"When the battle is over," he said through gritted teeth.

"Through our bond I can lessen the pain. Allow me, t'hy'la," said T'Pol.

"Do what you can, darlin'," replied T'Pol.

In a matter of seconds the pain diminished, so that Trip was able to function. T'Pol took on most of his pain for now, suppressing it and dealing with it. He looked over at her and smiled.

"Hull breaches on deck ten and deck six," called out Rostov.

"Activate DC Teams," ordered Trip.

He turned his attention away from T'Pol, who stayed at his side, and got his mind back in the game.

"Rail gun is ready again," called out Morse.

"Target the Bird Prey on our portside," ordered Trip.

"Targeted," replied Morse.

"Fire," Trip barked.

The rail gun fired piercing what was left of the Bird of Prey's shield and rupturing its hull. The ship veered off leaving a trail of plasma. With the odds changed again, The remaining Orion and Romulan ships bugged out of there. The two disabled Romulan ships, though, were not about to be taken captive.

"Sir," called out Ensign Singh, "our sensors have picked up an anti-matter breach in both Romulan ships."

"They are going to pop," called out Trip. "Hoshi, alert all ships to fall back at emergency speed."

"Aye, aye, sir," she said and got to work.

"Helm, take us to were the damaged frigates are," he ordered. "Morse, get tractor beam ready and snag one of the damaged ships."

"Yes, sir," he said.

"The Hanrahan is preparing to do the same with the other damaged frigate," called out Hoshi.

"Let's get at least 500 kay away from these ships before they pop," Trip said.

T'Pol moved closer to his chair. She could tell by his pallor he'd lost too much blood from the side wound. There was also the feeling of cold through his body from the burned arm and hand, as well as the onset of a fever. She touched his uninjured hand then held it. This contact increased the emotional empathy between the two of them.

He looked at her. His eyes were filled with pain mixed with exhaustion.

"Darlin'," he said in a tone that she could only hear, "you have the conn."

With those words he passed out. T'Pol caught him as he fell out of the chair and placed him gently down on the deck. E ship jerked as the tractor beam grabbed one of the frigates. T'Pol stood up straight and turned to the helm.

"Full impulse," she ordered then she turned to Hoshi. "Alert infirmary that the captain is badly injured on the bridge. We need medical aid."

"Yes, Commander," said Hoshi.

"We are at 500 kay," called out Singh.

The two Romulan Birds of Prey exploded. The shockwave came towards the ships.

"Brace for impact," T'Pol called out.

Hoshi sent the alert shipwide. The Atlantis waited to be hit with the shockwave.


	16. Chapter 16

**The Medical Bay of the Atlantis**

Trip woke up in a biobed feeling less than optimum. Healer V'Tal was standing beside his bed running a medical scanner. He looked at her with weary eyes. She stared back at him with an unreadable face of calm.

"Am I going to live, doctor?" he asked with a smirk.

"I believe the prognosis for a complete recovery is good," she said. "I have been checking your bond."

"Anything wrong with it?" he asked.

"Wrong? No. It is rather strong. I am surprised by just how strong it is," she said.

"How is T'Pol? She helped me on the bridge by taking away some of the pain I was feeling," he said.

"Commander T'Pol is on the bridge acting as captain. I shall check on her later," stated V'Tal, as if that was a good enough answer.

She walked away leaving him as she checked on one of the other dozen patients who occupied the medical bay. A few minutes later Phlox exited the Infirmary and entered medical bay. With one of his abnormally wide grins on his face, he walked over to Trip.

"How is my patient?" he asked.

Trip looked at his left arm and hand, which were wrapped in therma-bandages. He could remember the pain and how T'Pol helped him deal with it. What surprised him most was that it felt natural what occurred between him and T'Pol. It shouldn't have felt that way because it was extraordinary not natural.

"You tell me, doc," he said.

"I removed several pieces of large shrapnel from your side. Fortunately, no major organs were damaged," he told Trip. "As for your arm, it should be healed in three to four weeks with the use of therma-bandages and skin regeneration therapy."

"What were the casualties?" he asked next.

"Twenty-three injured with twelve needed some further hospitalization," Phlox said with his smile gone. "Unfortunately, Captain, we lost eight crew members. Six died from the hull breaches and two from an electrical fire in engineering."

"Hess?" he asked with anxiety in his voice.

"Chief Engineer Hess is fine, Captain," Phlox said with a slight smile.

"When can I leave the medical bay to go back to my place?" he asked.

"I know how much you hate staying in the medical bay, but I am keeping you for another twelve hours at least," said Phlox. "If you are a good patient during that time, I'll release you to your quarters."

"Thank you, Phlox," Trip said softly.

**The Columbia **

It was with regret that Erica Hernandez discovered that Primate, Aquatic, and Arboreal were inferior fighters to the Reptilian and Insectoid Xindi. The _Columbia_ led her task force into battle with Arboreal and Primate ships. The Aquatics were left behind in full to protect New Xindus. The battle was to stop the renegade Xindi and Romulans from taking Azati Prime.

The red giant star that gave life to the planet Azati Prime the planet seemed to be a bad augur. The sun was the color of blood and a great deal of blood was spilled at Azati Prime, though not all of it was red. Much of the blood was green.

Having superior numbers Hernandez was able to push the attack fleet back, but at a great cost. She lost six ships from her task force and another four Starfleet ships. The Xindi lost eleven. It seemed as if the attack fleet was more interested in damaging her strike force than taking the damned planet. They only lost twelve ships before retreating. As the Columbia navigated through the debris field of Reptilian, Insectoid, and Romulan ships, Captain Hernandez contacted Starfleet Command. She sat in her read room exhausted from being awake for the past thirty hours.

"_Hernandez, congratulations on repelling the attack fleet_," said Admiral Leonard.

"Sir, we need re-enforcements if we are going to assist the Xindi in keeping their territory," she said not wanting to accept is congratulations.

"_We anticipated your request_," he said. "_Twenty ships, thirteen Daedalus Class and seven frigates, are being sent to you under the command of Captain DiNatalie. You are to assume the brevet rank of commodore. I have appended your promotion to this comm. Have your XO review then post it. Starbase Xindus will become your FOB. We need you to keep the Romulans and the renegade Xindi at bay. Do you understand, Commodore_?"

Hernandez sighed. Twenty ship, she wanted more, but it would have to do for now. The Xindi were an industrious people. She needed to convince them to start building more starships.

"I understand, sir," she said.

"_Job well done, Hernandez_," said Leonard. "_I look forward to receiving your file report and intel package_."

"Yes, sir," she said.

The comm ended. Sinking back her in chair, Hernandez could barely keep her eyes open. She was now a brevet commodore. In six months the brevet would be dropped and she'd be just a commodore. There was a time that this would have excited her. She was still young, which mean that the admiralty was within reach, but right now all she wanted was a hot bath and a long sleep and a hell of a lot more ships than twenty.

**The Atlantis Medical Bay **

Trip was seated on the biobed in the medical bay reading a PADD with all ship reports on it. According to Hess the damage done in the battle was repaired except hull breaches, which were patched. T'Pol had the bridge running smoothly, promoting Lieutenant Morse to chief tactical officer with Trip's approval. She also had tactical, engineering, and ops running simulations wanting an increase in efficiency.

They were traveling now at warp 4 because of the damage done to other ships. Luckily, they had already heard from _Pacifica_ that the VIPs had arrived at Earth. Starfleet Command was waiting for him to leave the medical bay before speaking to him. Trip half expected that command would tear him a new asshole and take his command for falling back and confronting he Romulan and Orion ships rather than running.

Trip felt the presence of someone staring at him. He put down the PADD and saw T'Pol standing in the doorway staring at him. A smiled crept across his face.

"Commander," he said, "what do I owe the pleasure?"

"According to Dr. Phlox you are being released from the medical bay as soon as he can see you. I am here to escort you to your quarters, Captain," said T'Pol.

"I need a new duty uniform," he said.

"I have one waiting for you in the rest room," she said.

"Head, Commander. We call it the head," Trip chuckled.

"I do not see why," she said sounding perplexed.

"It goes back to the old sea sailing days. The toilet was at the bow of the ship where there was usually an ornate decoration of a mermaid or woman," explained Trip. "So it was the head of the ship where you could see the head of the decoration."

"I see," she replied with lifted left eyebrow.

He threw his legs over the side of the biobed then slowly stood up. His armed ached, though his side left much improved.

"Tell Phlox I'm in the head getting changed," he told her.

"Yes, Captain."

Trip and T'Pol walked side by side down the corridor heading towards his quarters. When they reached the door, she entered the captain's code and the doors opened. She waited until he entered first. Trip entered and found that his body relaxed just by being in his own quarters.

"After I get a shower and a few hours of sleep then you can have Hoshi contact Starfleet Command, so that they can ream my behind," he smiled.

T'Pol raised her right eyebrow, "I see."

"Don't worry you have done a superior job," he said. "And everything was done under my orders."

"You assume that Starfleet Command is upset with you," she said.

"I assume Starfleet would have preferred me to run with the VIPs then face superior odds and fight," he sighed. "But we have to start teaching these sons of bitches a lesson, show them that we can inflict more damage to them then they can us."

He unzipped the half zipper and prepared to take off his duty shirt. T'Pol didn't move to leave, which confused Trip for a moment.

"You don't have to stay," he said.

"You are my bondmate and you have suffered pain. I am here for you," she said.

She walked up to him and gently removed his shirt over his head. After getting his shirt off, T'Pol began to inspect his body. Trip could feel that she had her mental barriers down and was allowing her emotions to flow freely through the bond. He did the same. The feeling was ineffable, both strange and familiar at the same time.

T'Pol touched his side with a feathery touch. She touched his new scar, just another one to add to his growing count he count. Most of them he received as an engineer and never bothered to have them cosmetically removed. He didn't mind them. What she surprised him was that T'Pol liked them.

She brought her hands up to his scorched hand and arm. Lightly she ran her hand over the therma-bandage. An electric thrill of arousal went up his spine. She looked at him with a slightly raised left eyebrow. He was starting to read her eyebrow code and believed that his arousal amused her. Trip looked down into her hazel eyes, which were unusually for a Vulcan. Next, his eyes shifted down to her full lips.

"Our bond appears to be working satisfactorily," she stated.

"Um… yeah," he replied.

"You wish to kiss me," she said.

"The thought crossed my mind," he said softly. "Do Vulcans kiss?"

"We prefer to touch fingers. It is called the ozh'esta, finger embrace. It is done with the index and middle finger and it allows us to heighten the bond," she explained.

T'Pol then took the index finger and middle finger from her right hand and caressed his index finger and middle finger of his left hand. This increased Trip's arousal.

"That's nice," he said, "but I still like a good kiss."

With his good hand he reached back behind her neck and drew T'Pol closer to him then he captured her lips. At first it was a tentative kiss allowing her to get used to it, but soon he was devouring her mouth and she was reciprocating. Next, their tongues were fighting for dominance. Eventually, they separated as they both need air.

"I left Lieutenant Commander Sato in charge," T'Pol told him. "I am off duty, also."

"I like that, darlin'," he growled.

Wrapping his arms around her, he brought T'Pol in for a further kiss.

**Starfleet Command**

T'Pau and Soval requested a meeting with Admiral Roddenberry and Admiral Forest. It was quickly granted and scheduled for Admiral Roddenberry's office. They arrived at his office at one o'clock as scheduled. It was a large office, second only to Fleet Admiral's Taylor, with a view of the city in the background and Starfleet Academy in the foreground. When they entered Roddenberry and Forest were sitting at the large conference table, which had a tea set on it. The two admirals stood.

"It is a pleasure to have you on Earth, Prime Councilor T'Pau," Roddenberry said.

"Please sit and have some tea. It is mint tea. We were told that most Vulcans like it," said Forest.

The sat close to the two admirals and Soval served them the tea.

"Window, 30 percent shade," Roddenberry commanded and the large window's darkened by thirty percent.

"We are not here as representatives of Vulcan's government, but as clan and representatives of Commander T'Pol," started T'Pau.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Forest.

"Allow me to explain," said Soval.

He began the explanation and they listened. Both admirals attempted to maintain neutral expressions as Soval explained the situation between T'Pol and Captain Tucker. He included that Healer V'Tal was now part of the ship's medical staff in order to monitor their bond and study it. T'Pau then took over the conversation enlightened them on the importance of the bond and how it was considered private and all information about the bond must be kept private. Vulcan's deemed such things paramount.

By the time they ended informing the admirals about the situation, both men appeared ready to resolve the situation. Soval and T'Pau awaited their thoughts on the matter.

"This is highly unusual, but if Earth is to work with other races and build a coalition I think it's important that we keep an open mind," said Roddenberry.

"We have fraternization rules based on chain of command and a commander's discretion and this situation is against the rules, yet, you tell me that they need to be together for a full year," Forest said.

"At least a year," said Soval.

"There are cases were the bond is so strong that the two bondmates never separate for long periods of time because it can interfere with their logic," said T'Pau. "But this seldom occurs. It is only in the strongest of bonds."

"I received a report from Commander T'Pol on the Atlantis and the other Federation ships routing the Romulans and Orions who were pursuing you. She filed the report because Captain Tucker was hurt in the battle. According to all the reports I've read, including medical ones, the ship and crew were extremely well lead by their captain and XO," stated Forest.

"If there bond is working properly it will only increase the efficiency in which they work together," said Soval.

"An addendum can be written into our fraternization rules allowing alien cultures to be respected as long as the functioning of the ship is not interfered with," said Roddenberry. "We can work around this situation."

"That is most agreeable," said T'Pau. "The respect you are showing our ways is noted."

"Thank you, Admirals. I believe we will meet again soon, but next time it will be a more official visit," said Soval.

The two admirals stood and continued to stand until the Vulcans had left then they sat down. Roddenberry started to laugh, while Forest shook his head.

"First the First Monarch of Krios then there was a few other incidents and now this," said Forest. "Tucker seems to be a magnet for alien women."

"I heard tell he was a magnet for women in general," chuckled Roddenberry.

"I feel he should be punished somehow, but the news media caught wind of his battle with the Romulans and Orions and are portraying it as a great victory. Outnumbered Starfleet ships led by Captain Charles Tucker III, the same hero who saved Earth from greater destruction during the drone attack, whooped the Romulans and Orions. Whoever leaked that story in PR should be demoted because they have tied our hands," growled Forest.

"Maxwell, you are missing the point," said Roddenberry. "Tucker is being punished."

"How?" asked Forest.

"He is bonded, married, whatever you want to call to a Vulcan. For a hotspur and rake like Tucker, that has to be punished," laughed Roddenberry.

Forest looked at the chief of staff and started to laugh along with him. Tucker married to a Vulcan was funny.

"You're right, David," laughed Forest.

**Trip's Quarters**

Trip lay in his bed naked with a nude T'Pol in his arms. She almost burrowed into him, since Vulcans had lower body temperatures than Humans. It was one of the many coping mechanism of their body that allowed them to live on a hot desert planet. She was drawing warmth from him, while he luxuriated in their post coital languor.

Never in his life had he experienced anything like what he and T'Pol had done. Because of their bond, it heightened the sex between them. He was content, no, he was happy, and he had a female Vulcan in his arms who was damned near purring. The thought of being bond for a year, for life, no longer scared him.

"Darlin', that was amazing," he said.

"It was most agreeable," she replied.

Through their bond he knew that she felt the same way as him. He now understood how much that Vulcan façade hid, how deep their emotions were, and even how violent their emotions were, though he only got a hint of that.

"I was thinking of having Hess put a door between your quarters and mine," he said. "She'll do it for me and keep it quiet. I'd like you to spend more time here in my quarters with me."

"That would be agreeable," she said.

He felt a warmth and acceptance coming from her through the bond. It was so strong he felt he could get lost in it.

"I can free up some space in my closet for you, too," he said.

"Are you sure, ashayam?" she asked him.

"Ash-yam?"

"Ashayam. It means beloved," T'Pol explained.

"Beloved," smiled Trip, that feeling of warmth and acceptance growing even stronger. "I like that. Are you sure that I am your beloved?"

"When you were hurt in the attack, I panicked. We are bonded, but the bond is strong because a part of me has chosen you," she said.

"Why me?" he asked.

"For a Vulcan my emotions are considered to be on the surface. I am considered emotional for a Vulcan, as sometimes my emotions leak through and become apparent," she explained. "Even though Koss was supposed to be my bondmate, he never accepted me. He like others expected that I would change, become more disciplined. I have remained me. You accepted me as I am, Charles. I found working with you to be… pleasurable. As time progressed I even found you aesthetically pleasing."

"Did you know, darlin'," Trip grinned. "I find you aesthetically pleasing, too."

T'Pol leaned into me and first licked then sucked on his ear. Trip started to become aroused again. He moaned.

"Darlin', I am really glad you have chosen me," he said then he moved her onto her back and slipped on top of her. "I really think I've fallen in love with you, T'Pol, and I accept you anyway you want to be."

"Kiss me, Charles," she said and he did.


	17. Chapter 17

**Starfleet Headquarters**

Admirals Roddenberry and Admiral Forest sat in Admiral Roddenberry's officer. Wearing his causal dress uniform, Trip was escorted in by a lieutenant. They sat at the conference table on one side with just one chair on the other side waiting for Captain Tucker. His heart started to beat faster and faster as he felt his career swirl down the drain. He sat down. They waited until the lieutenant left.

"How do you like married life, Captain Tucker?" asked Admiral Forest.

The color drained from Trip's face. There it was his career dead and during a war. He'd probably end up at the refitted Jupiter Station repairing damaged engines instead of using his skills at their best.

"The Vulcans have spoken to you, sir," he said.

He hoped beyond that the Vulcans put their support behind him. It was his only chance.

"If you mean by the Vulcans Prime Councilor T'Pau and Ambassador Soval, yes, they have spoken to us," said Roddenberry.

From his glare, Trip knew that Roddenberry wasn't too happy with the clan he married into.

"If it wasn't for the fact that the Vulcan clan that you have bonded into was so important, I'd be looking at lieutenant Tucker, but we do not want to insult the Vulcans at this time when they and 1st Fleet was fighting side by side trying to hold off an invasion of Vulcan by the Romulans. We are looking to build a relationship with the not destroy one," stated Forest.

"It doesn't help us that the press got wind of your standing up to the Romulan and Orion ships sending them packing," added Roddenberry. "You almost rival Archer now in the media as a heroic starship captain. First the drones and now kicking some Romulan and Orion ass, you are becoming a damned recruiting poster. The media expects a medal to be pinned to your chest not a demotion."

"Yes, sir. The bonding, it… it was an accident, sir," said Trip.

"Our frat rules and guidelines are being amended as we speak just for you, Tucker. Fleet Admiral Taylor and President Samuels are waiting to sign off on them without an argument, too," growled Forest.

"We expect this marriage to be kept quiet, Tucker, though, since there are some anti-alien feelings out there right now," stated Roddenberry. "The Vulcans explained the parameters to us of this bond-thing. For the next year where you do Commander T'Pol goes. T'Pau has asked that she become a member of Starfleet in order to expedite this and we have agreed. Until they know if this bond can be severed then she is your call and chain, do you understand, Captain?"

"Yes, sir," answered Trip.

He wanted to smile at the thought of T'Pol being considered a ball and chain. She was far from a burden. The more he grew used to the bond, the more he depended on her and fell in love with her. Of course, the sex was mind blowing, too. He had to admit that the bond helped there.

"We are allowing you to stay in command of the Atlantis and in command of Task Force: Sparta. We are intending on added more ships to your task force, also. Andoria has opened talks about forming a coalition which would include joint task forces. Do you have a problem with Andorians, Tucker?"

"No problem, sir," replied Trip. "I have no problems with Andorians."

"Good," said Forest. "Your ship needs to have some minor repairs made. I believe you had some hull breaches punched into your ship. Get them taken care of. Once that is done you and your ship can have a four day liberty before you will be given a new assignment."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. I feel as if I have to apologize for what happened with Commander T'Pol," said Trip.

"Don't apologize, Tucker," said Roddenberry. "I think you've made things more difficult and uncomfortable for yourself than for Starfleet. A Vulcan? Really? I can understand that Kriosian First Monarch that you had a dalliance with, she was a fiery beauty, but an emotionless Vulcan. I don't know how you are going to survive a marriage to an ice cube, Captain Tucker."

"Sir, Commander T'Pol is…" Trip started to defend T'Pol.

"Don't worry, about supplying us with details, Captain, on Commander T'Pol and the how Vulcans make good wives," said Forest with a smirk. "You should keep the number of people you inform about your current and, hopefully, temporary marital status to a minimum of personnel. Commander T'Pol's position as executive officer of the _Atlantis_ is now currently under review. So far she has proven to be an excellent XO. The review is to show that this situation is above board to certain admirals and that your relationship will not interfere with the running of the ship. President Samuel and Fleet Admiral Taylor want to be this quiet but not a secret. If something was to happen to either Admiral Roddenberry or myself, Admiral Leonard, or Gardner, or Black, or Jefferies would be in line to our positions. They and others will have to know, agree with the decisions that are being made here, and be prepared to work with your situation."

"I understand, sir," Trip said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"I know Gardner and Black are not fans of yours," said Roddenberry, "so you better hope that neither Max nor I have to fall on our swords during this war. For some reason we both think that you are good commanding officer and an asset to Starfleet."

"Yes, sir," said Trip.

"I recommend you stay in the news and keep your hero reputation going, also. Being media star will help you, Captain Tucker," added Forest.

"Yes, sir," Trip replied in a soft voice.

"You are dismissed, Captain," stated Roddenberry.

Trip stood up to leave. He hesitated, though, and Forest knew he wanted to ask them a question.

"What is it, Tucker?" asked Forest.

"Where is Commander T'Pol now?" he asked.

"She is at the Vulcan Compound being debriefed and interviewed by four admirals. We decided not to enlist JAG for this review," answered Forest. "I'd get over there and show my wife or mate or whatever they call it on Vulcan some support."

"Yes, sir," Trip said then he exited the office.

Roddenberry laughed then he spoke, "You better keep your hero reputation."

"He's a good captain. I want him to stay on a razor's edge," smiled Forest.

"Let's make sure that Commander T'Pol passes this damned review and Gardner and Black are kept in check. They can be a pain in the ass when they want to be. We don't need that now," said Roddenberry.

Forest sighed, "I'll get started on it."

"You are definitely earning your pay, Max," chuckled Roddenberry.

**Starbase: Alpha Centauri**

In the observation room off of ops, Rear Admiral Archer stood looking out the plasma window at several of the ships from his fleet. So far his 1St Fleet had seen little action, but he knew that was going to change. The commander of the Starbase, Commander Okuna, stood by his side.

"Today could be a momentous day for us, Admiral," said Okuna.

"I know, Sai," said Archer. "But it has come at a cost. The Andorians were routed at P'Jem. They lost over five thousand ground troops and eight ships. They are fighting mad, which means if we agree to a treaty, we are agreeing to some sort of retaliation."

"And the Vulcan monastery there was destroyed and all the priests killed. The Vulcans aren't thrilled, either," added Okuna.

Archer turned away from the window.

"I wish to hell that the Diplocorp had sent an ambassador to handle this negotiation," he sighed. "This is not my strong suit. I'd rather be on the _Enterprise_ leading an assault."

"According to those I've talked to at command they think you to be the best damned ambassador we have in Starfleet. You are willing to talk and willing to fight. It's a winning combination," said Okuna.

"_Admiral, your guests are here_," came a voice over the comm.

Archer walked over to the wall comm unit and pressed the reply button.

"Escort them in," he said.

In a few moments, a commander escorted two light blue skinned male Andorians into the observation room. One was dressed in the black of the Imperial Guard and the other was dressed in red with gold trim.

"General Shran and Ambassador Shras," the commander introduced them.

"Dismissed," said Archer.

The commander quickly left. Shran smiled. His antennae showed he was happy to see Archer.

"So, pink skin, we are face to face again," he said. "Maybe this time we will get to fight together against a common foe and make some history together."

"I'd look forward to that, Shran," smiled Archer.

"I brought a case of Andorian Ale just in case we have a treaty to celebrate and are allowed to tell some tall tales instead of talk politics," he laughed.

"The General seems to have great faith in you, Rear Admiral Archer," said Shras. "I hope his faith is not misplaced."

"I consider myself his friend and friendship is never misplaced as long as both parties are honorable," said Archer.

Shras antennae twitched, yet he bowed his head in respect. He wasn't sure about the honorable remark. Shran laughed.

"This should be excellent entertainment. A diplomat filled with half-truths and hidden meanings having to deal with a warrior," chuckled Shran.

"Considering that the Romulans appear to crave the Alpha quadrant, we are all warriors now," grinned Archer.

"Excellent, pink skin, well said," said Shran.

"Shall we start our talks?" asked Shras, who felt uncomfortable with Shran and Archer being close.

"We can sit over here," Commodore Okuna said then he pointed to a table that had a coffee cravat and mugs waiting for them, as well as a pitcher of water and glasses.

"Yes, we have much to talk about," said Shras.

**Lunar Base, Section 31 **

Salan sat in Harris' office. He was doing as he was told which was to wait patiently. Steepling his fingers, he went into a state of meditation. All emotions that he had played with needed to be submerged, assimilated, and disposed of. He had succeeding and dealing with most of these emotions on the trip back to Earth, but he still had some emotions to deal with.

"Mr. Salan, it is a pleasure to see you again," said Harris.

Dressed in his black uniform, he walked over to his desk and sat down.

"Where is Malcolm?" asked Salan.

"In surgery," answered Harris.

"He will no longer be Vulcan in appearance," stated Salan.

Harris smiled.

"No, he won't be Vulcan in appearance, but he will be Orion in appearance. I offer you the opportunity to join him in a mission. If you say yes, then you, too, will be Orion in appearance," said Harris.

"What is the mission?" asked Salan.

"Disguised as Orion merchants enter Klingon territory and get intel on the state of the Klingon fleets. We need to know if the Klingons are going to enter this war, and if they do, on which side they'll choose," stated Harris.

"Orion," sighed Salan. "I will need an emotional profile on Orions, as well as cultural profile. I already know a great deal about the Orions but I believe in being thorough when going undercover."

"Excellent," grinned Harris. "You and Reed are quickly becoming the best undercover team out there. Shall I contact the V'Shar for you?"

"I have offered my resignation to the V'Shar, Mister Harris and it has been accepted. I know offer my service to Section 31. I believe the future of the Alpha Quadrants stability is in the hands of Earth and I wish to assist," said Salan.

"Salan," Harris nodded his head, "it will be an honor to have you join our organization. Section 31 is now your home."

Salan offered Harris his version of a smile, which was a slight turn up at the side of his mouth.

"So, when do you turn my skin a different shade of green?" Salan asked.

"No time like the present," said Harris.

Salan stood up out of the chair.

"Let us get started then. It appears that Mister Reed and I have some more training to do," said Salan.

"Agreed," said Harris.

**Vulcan Compound**

Admiral Gardner, Black, Jefferies, and Chan finished up their questioning of T'Pol, T'Pau, and Soval. It had been a grueling two hours of probing questions and a Vulcan answers. Soval now understood the composition of the four investigators. Gardner and Black were against Captain Tucker and Jefferies and Chan were in favor of him. The worst case scenario was a split between these admirals. It was a well-designed foursome. He would have to show his appreciation to Admiral Forest.

"May I offer you some tea as a form of refreshment after this long session of questioning?" asked Soval.

They held the meeting in his office. The parties sat across from each other at a slate volcanic rock table that came from Vulcan. Before one of the other the other admirals could speak up, Chan spoke.

"I think a nice up of Vulcan spice tea would be soothing," he said.

"I shall order us some tea," Soval said then he stood up and walked over to his comm unit and ordered the tea.

"Admiral Gardner, you dislike Captain Tucker. Is there a reason for that?" asked T'Pau.

"I believe he has gotten away with too much over the years and because of his engineering brilliance, it has been ignored," said Gardner. "Now I can live with it, if he stayed an engineer, but he is commanding a starship now, and I expect more from those who command starships."

"In the drone attack he saved millions of lives, is that not so?" asked Soval.

"Yes," grunted Gardner.

"And he has proven an above average captain?" asked T'Pau.

"Yes," grunted Gardner.

"Fascinating," said Soval.

"Indeed," added T'Pau.

Jefferies and Chan attempted to hide smirks.

Trip arrived at the Vulcan Compound and was shown to a waiting area he had never seen before. It appeared that his status as bonded to T'Pol was known. This new waiting area had a rock meditation garden, a small waterfall, a Vulcan teahouse, and no security guards. There were Vulcans using the rock garden, conversing by the waterfall, and purchasing cups of Vulcan tea. Standing with his arms behind his back and his tongue rolling in his right cheek, Trip stood by himself and waited for T'Pol.

"Are you Captain Tucker?" a voice spoke to him from behind.

Trip turned and looked to see a Vulcan slightly taller than him and dressed in Vulcan business clothes not robes.

"I am," he said.

"I am Koss. I am T'Pol's intended from birth. You are an interloper," he said.

"Excuse me, Kass…"

"It is Koss," Koss corrected him.

"Yeah, well, if you were informed properly you'd know that it was an accident what happened between T'Pol and me. Anyways, T'Pol didn't want to marry you anyhow. I know this because she melded with me," explained Trip.

"In Vulcan tradition, I should be able to challenge you to the death, but I have been told that your alleged bond is strong and growing and cannot be interfered with. It appears that they wish to study you like a lab rat," said Koss.

"I prefer guinea pig," smiled Trip.

"Humor. How Human," Koss said.

"Koss," came a sharp edged female voice.

Both Trip and Koss turned to see an agitated T'Pol glaring at Koss. She strode up beside Trip and then stepped slightly in front of him. Through the bond Trip could fee a mix of protectiveness and animosity.

"He is my bondmate, Koss. I would die or kill before I allowed harm to come to him," she stated.

"Darlin'," Trip said quietly, "it's alright. Koss is a blowhard with hurt feelings. Anyway, Malcolm would kick my butt if I could take him in a fight."

"He has superior stamina and strength," she stated.

"But he isn't Human and even the Klingons respect us as warriors. And I doubt he has my training and experience at battle," said Trip.

Trip placed his hand on her shoulder and then said, "It's okay, darlin'. Step down."

She nodded her head and said, "Yes, adun."

"Adun?" asked Trip.

"It is Vulcan for husband,"said Koss with bitterness.

"I like that. What is wife?" Trip asked.

"Adun'a," answered T'Pol.

"Let's get out of here, adun'a," said Trip. "We have a lot to talk about."

"Yes, adun," said T'Pol.

The two walked away from Koss, who followed them with his eyes as they left the waiting area. Somehow he was going to get even with Captain Charles Tucker III.


End file.
